Vila Thai Cuisine will serve its last meal at 972 E. University Blvd. today, Friday, April 22, but it will reopen Sunday as V Fine Thai Dining in its new location on the corner of Stone Avenue and Congress Street.

A recorded message on the restaurant’s telephone says Vila Thai Cuisine will be open today from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and 5 to 9 p.m. The new downtown location opens at 3 p.m., Sunday. After it opens, you can call 882-8143 for reservations and information.

We haven’t been able to get in touch with owner Vila Jarrell yet, but we’ll keep trying and post any updates that emerge. The new location does have a much larger kitchen, and there’s been word that the menu will be a bit larger than what one finds at the original location.

There’s more information over here.

• Photo and experiment by Ryn Gargulinski
• Peeps at the start of experiment in Tucson tree.

Although the sugary snacks have several claims to fame—such as their astounding array of colors that now include bright blue, and shapes that go way beyond Easter chicks—their main claim to fame is their shelf life.

Peeps supposedly stay fresh, sweet and edible for an incredible two years. That is, of course, if you keep them wrapped in their plastic, far from greedy little fingers—and out of the Arizona sun.

We wanted to test Peeps' longevity through a Tucson summer so we stuck them on a stick in a tree last March, right before Easter 2010.

You’ll be amazed and perhaps even surprised at what we found.

First off, Peeps do not melt in the Arizona sun. They instead become hard and dense, not unlike those sugar roses on wedding cakes you’re not supposed to eat, but still try to every time.

• The Pima County Fair has the Jim Nintzel seal of approval.

The Pima County Fair, back for another round, offers a healthy (or unhealthy) serving of food, fun and family fare. Animals, rides, games and more provide nearly endless amounts of entertainment. More photos after the break.

The Tucson Padres lost another close one tonight, although Anthony Rizzo, who is batting .436 on the season, smashed another home run in the ninth inning. Tim Hagerty of the Padres has the details:

Anthony Rizzo’s fifth home run of the season in the ninth inning wasn’t enough for the Tucson Padres Thursday, falling to Fresno 5-4. The loss ended a two-game winning streak for the Padres, and also closed a five-game losing streak for Fresno. Rizzo now has 22 RBI’s in 14 games this season, and is hitting .436.

Fresno scored three times in the first inning against starter Jeremy Hefner, and the Padres were never able to catch the Grizzlies, despite cutting the lead to one on two different occasions. Tucson scored once in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings, and squandered a chance in the eighth when Everth Cabrera was caught stealing for the first out. Fresno scored an insurance run they would later need when reliever Steve Edlefsen hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning, his first professional hit.

The T-Pads bullpen was again strong, with Greg Burke and Randy Flores each putting together scoreless outings. Fresno starter Michael Kown pitched six innings, allowing two runs on only three hits, while Hefner allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits in six innings.

The Padres wrap up their first-ever homestand tonight at Kino Stadium. First pitch is 7 p.m. Details here.

It's the Pima County Fair's last weekend. That means you have just three more days to enjoy fair festivities such as going to the the freak show, eating pizza on a stick, watching 1990s pop sensations Boyz II Men in concert and riding the glorious Tucson Weekly ferris wheel. Of course there are plenty of other rides at the fair. Read on for more photos and be sure to head out to the fair if you haven't yet.

• MICHELLE WEISS

Photos and Story by Michelle Weiss

• MICHELLE WEISS

• MICHELLE WEISS

Performers, musicians and art shows populate the sidewalk almost every weekend, making summertime one of the busiest and best times to visit the historic courthouse.

The elaborate art shows draw crowds from all over the state. Locals dress up their shops to feature booths for food tasting, handmade bags and clothing, items for dogs and many other one-of-a-kind items created by artists.

Many families come by with their dogs, children and friends to enjoy the music, artwork and food.

One of the local Prescott favorites is the “Dinner Bell,” a popular breakfast place that brings in many regulars.The restaurant has been operating since 1939 and reveals that rustic and historic look along with a variety of bright colors on the tables and chairs.

Home to several lakes and campsites, weekends in Prescott is abuzz with outdoor activities. Watson Lake, a popular spot for locals and tourists, is a sight to behold with granite dells standing sentinel around the park, providing healthy fodder for your rock climbers and scenic photographers. Granite Mountain, located in the Prescott National Park, is a very popular hiking site and stands a beacon for any passerby.

• MICHELLE WEISS

There’s a great episode of The Simpsons where Mr. Burns decides to run for mayor and, as a campaign stunt, has dinner at the Simpsons’ house in front of TV cameras.

The entire thing is, of course, completely choreographed by Mr. Burns, who has supplied the Simpson family with the questions they’re supposed to ask him.

Lisa’s scripted question: “Mr Burns, your campaign seems to have the momentum of a run-away freight train. Why are you so popular?”

Mr. Burns responds: "Oh, a tough question, but a fair one. Lisa, there’s no single answer. Some voters respond to my integrity. Others are more impressed by my incorruptibility. Still others like my determination to lower taxes and the bureaucrats in the state capital can put that in their pipes and smoke it!"

I was reminded of the exchange (which you can watch here) as I read Meghan McCain’s laughable interview with Donald Trump. Meghan, the daughter of Sen. John McCain, has managed to use her family’s connections to get the obligatory book deal, Daily Beast column and whatnot, but the interview reveals that she’s a ditz when it comes to journalism.

Dave Weigel pounces on the interview in Slate, but I thought I’d share a few of the highlights from her “tough but fair” interrogation:

This morning, the front page of the Drudge Report had Obama at 49 percent and you’re at 34 percent, and you haven’t even announced. Why do you think you’ve made such an impact already? Why do you think you’re catching on in a way that Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty really aren’t?

What’s interesting about you and your candidacy, I think that some people think it’s some sort of joke or publicity stunt. But even at dinner last night I was sitting with my friends, and it’s like the more people talk about it the more interested they are and the more convinced they are that you could be a nominee for the Republican Party. What I’m looking for is someone who’s not going to take bullshit, not going to let the media run them around, and who is going to give it back to Obama. And you seem to be the only person who’s really doing it right now.

If you run for president, will you hire me for your campaign?

Why do you think this birther thing still has such legs?

Are you really ready for this?

And so on. They talk about GOP campaign strategists and blah, blah, blah. And she complains that she didn’t like the questions that George Stephanopoulos asked Trump on Good Morning America, which you can watch above. Maybe because Stephanopoulos didn't ask Trump for a job?

There are a number of things I like very much about the trailer for 30 Minutes or Less: I like the cast, especially Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride, I liked Zombieland a lot, etc.

However, the minute I saw that Jesse Eisenberg is playing a pizza delivery guy forced to rob a bank with a bomb strapped to his chest, I thought of Brian Wells, the subject of a very strange series of events in 2003, which ended for him with a bomb exploding around his neck on local television, which is very, very far from what most people consider humorous. Obviously, 30 Minutes or Less was only vaguely inspired by the real life case, but I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to shake the real life case long enough to want to see the movie.

The internet seemingly exists to create largely useless but amusing websites, and I think the Mayors of the Waffle House site definitely fulfills both requirements. Two things I've learned: some guy named Miguel G. really likes Waffle Houses, and that it will only take three check-ins (and signing up for Foursquare, I guess) for me to take over as Mayor of the Waffle House by the Tucson Weekly's offices.

Poll analyzing wunderkind Nate Silver looks at the numbers for his New York Times blog:

A poll from CNN this week is the latest to show a majority of Americans in favor of same-sex marriage, with 51 percent saying that marriages between gay and lesbian couples “should be recognized by the law as valid” and 47 percent opposed.

This is the fourth credible poll in the past eight months to show an outright majority of Americans in favor of gay marriage. That represents quite a lot of progress for supporters of same-sex marriage. Prior to last year, there had been just one survey — a Washington Post poll conducted in April 2009 — to show support for gay marriage as the plurality position, and none had shown it with a majority.

[...]

The change — about a 4 percentage-point shift in favor of gay marriage in each of the last two years — is about double the longer-term rate of progress for supporters of gay marriage, which has been between 1 and 2 percentage points per year.

There is a margin of error associated with the calculation of the trendline, so it is too soon to say with confidence that support for gay marriage has become the plurality position (let alone the majority one). Other polls — like a Pew survey released in March — continue to show opinion split about evenly.

However, opponents of gay marriage almost certainly no longer constitute a majority; just one of the last nine polls has shown opposition to gay marriage above 50 percent.