• FX

Before I get into the two FX premieres last night, I'd like to bid pained adieu to The Onion Sportsdome, which was canceled by Comedy Central this week. I can't say it's a surprising cut since the show was so polarizing. I thought it was one of the two most innovative comedies on television, an impressive feat considering it was both a satire of ESPN's self-important sports reporting and frantically surreal. Sportsdome's cancellation reminds me of another short-lived comedy show which was also fast-paced, weird, and polarizing: The Dana Carvey Show. Maybe Sportsdome had the next Stephen Colbert and Louis C.K. in their writing ranks.

Speaking of Louis C.K., the other most innovative comedy on television returned for a second season last night.

The Arizona Supreme Court declined to take action on a lawsuit to stop Gov. Jan Brewer from moving forward with plans to block some low-income from receiving health insurance.

Tim Hogan of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest had filed a lawsuit to stop the Brewer administration changing AHCCCS eligibility levels that were set by voters in 2000.

Under the current law, anyone who earns up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level is eligible for state-subidized health insurance.

But in the upcoming fiscal year, Brewer wants freeze enrollment so that no new adults without minor children will be eligible for the program. In addition, adults with children who earn above 75 percent of the federal level would also be cut off.

Hogan had sued the state, arguing that the Brewer administration couldn’t change a program mandated by voters. He had asked the Arizona Supreme Court to issue an injunction in the case blocking Brewer’s changes.

Today, the court decided it would not take on the case and instead said that Hogan should start at the Superior Court level.

Hogan tells The Range that he’ll file a new suit in Maricopa County on Monday.

Get a load of this contraption: It's a bar! It's a bike! It's a trolley car!

It's kind of all three. Learn more about what the Trolley Pub is all about—and how it can be yours for an evening when it rolls into public view at Gentle Ben's this Saturday from 7 p.m. to midnight. Learn more here.

Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl was the last Republican to walk away from the bipartisan debt negotiations. When last heard from, Kyl was sticking to the GOP line that any tax increase would be catastrophic to economic recovery, despite mountains of evidence that he's completely wrong.

We observed yesterday that Kyl's comments were evidence of the GOP's economic delusionals. Really, if a senator who isn't even seeking reelection can't say the truth, who in the GOP can face reality?

Slate's John Dickerson says there's nothing to worry about. This is all part of the dance:

Given the state of politics in Washington today, and the stakes in this debate, the breakdown in talks was a foregone conclusion. "We are at the impasse stage," said one administration official. It was always expected that Biden and congressional leaders would work as hard as they could, then cede the final round to President Obama and Boehner. That's where we are now, just as we were in the fight over the Bush tax cuts at the end of last year, and just as we were in the negotiations last spring over the continuing resolution to keep funding the government for this year. The leaders of the two key factions (along with their sidekicks, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell) will now have to work with the wonks doing the math and figure out which final set of compromises will be palatable to their party.

Before the final stage of backroom negotiations, there are always the denunciations, charges of unseriousness, and accusations of ideological rigidity. Why do we always come to this stage? It's a negotiating tactic, an educational exercise, and stage management. Anyone putting together a deal knows the value of seeming inflexible. Maybe you'll win concessions from the other side. Republican leaders must make a show of how difficult they are to impress their members and constituents. If a deal happened with Biden in a room and there wasn't any public outcry, conservatives would have every right to be suspicious that Republicans got rolled.

Democrats need the blow up for similar reasons. The moment allows them to try to paint Republicans as captive of their unpopular Tea Party wing, which might lower the expected level of spending cuts, or at least rearrange them if Republicans feel the heat. Both sides also need the debate to play out in public so that everyone can fully understand why an ultimate deal was the best one leaders could get.

TNR's Jonathan Chait says Big Business will have to weigh in to push the GOP into avoiding fiscal calamity:

Gaming out the debt ceiling talks, it seems to me that the most important power dynamic is whether the business community can and will pressure Republicans in Congress to cut a deal. Without business pressure, the GOP has zero incentive to agree. Agreeing means making substantive concessions that enrage the base and potentially end the career of anybody who votes for it. Not agreeing probably means precipitating some kind of financial crisis that harms the economy and thus improves the party's prospects in 2012. Hike taxes or beat Obama? That's a very easy call for Republicans.

• The southside of the Rillito at Mountain Avenue is closed for construction.

A Tucson businessman combines his love of trees and bikes. Find out how The Pedaling Arborist uses his bike.

The Bicycle Belles, a new group in Tucson, hope to get more women riding bicycles by hosting rides and educational events. See what they have planned.

A Tucson frame builder patents a system that allows cyclists to take apart their bikes for traveling. Learn how he is hoping to use it to make a big impact in the bike business.

A Tucsonan is racing his mountain bike from Canada to Mexico and you can instantly track where he is at and how he is doing. Check it out.

• Samantha Sais

The Padres brought out their bats for a 9-7 win over the Sacramento River Cats yesterday and have a big weekend coming up at Kino Stadium.

Tonight, local chefs will be competing to be crowned the Tucson King of Hot Wings. (We didn't want to say Tucson's Best Wings because of legal issues with our very own—and upcoming—Best of Tucson™.)

The Padres will also be giving away a photo of slugger Anthony Rizzo, who went up to The Show earlier in the season.

Tomorrow night, the Padres will be shooting off fireworks after the game (as they will again on the Fourth of July, so get your tickets to that game now).

First pitch is 7 p.m. and the homestand continues every night through Tuesday, June 28. Find the details here.

Here's a summary of last night's game from the Padres' Tim Hagerty:

The Tucson Padres scored three runs each in three consecutive innings Thursday on their way to beating the Sacramento River Cats 9-7 at Kino Stadium. After falling behind 1-0, the Padres second inning started with a Kyle Blanks home run into the left field bullpen. Blanks was involved in the third inning rally also, hitting an RBI triple into the left field corner, and then scored on Aaron Cunningham’s home run one pitch later. Matt Clark’s 12th home run highlighted the Padres fourth inning; a deep home run that rolled to the fence separating the stadium from the street.

It's hard out there for food reviewers, Liu. We're sympathetic.

The Taichung branch of Taiwan High Court on Tuesday sentenced a blogger who wrote that a restaurant’s beef noodles were too salty to 30 days in detention and two years of probation and ordered her to pay NT$200,000 in compensation to the restaurant.

The blogger, surnamed Liu (劉), writes about a variety of topics — including food, health, interior design and lifestyle topics — and has received more than 60,000 hits on her Web site.

After visiting a Taichung beef noodle restaurant in July 2008, where she had dried noodles and side dishes, Liu wrote that the restaurant served food that was too salty, the place was unsanitary because there were cockroaches and that the owner was a “bully” because he let customers park their cars haphazardly, leading to traffic jams.

The restaurant’s owner, surnamed Yang (楊), learned about Liu’s blog post from a regular customer, and filed charges against her, accusing her of defamation.

[Taipei Times]

Now showing (and continuing for an additional week) at The Loft: Bill Cunningham—New York Times photographer—is more than just some cute-old-man-snapping-pics-on-a-bike. He's a living legend who's been chronicling fashion trends for decades. And he does it all on the streets—smack dab in the middle of the action in NYC.

TW staff writer Mari Herreras rounded up some political gossip while I was out of town last week:

This year’s race for mayor of Tucson is pretty much over, so is it too soon to start focusing on 2012?

Every member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors— Ann Day, District 1; Ramón Valadez, District 2; Sharon Bronson, District 3; Ray Carroll, District 4; and Richard Elías, District 5—will be up for reelection and rumors are already circulating.

Throw in some redistricting of all five district boundary lines and, as one politician told The Range, we should prep ourselves for some fireworks.

Pima County recently put up an informational website on the process of redrawing the district boundary lines. A five-member board, appointed by the supervisors, will determine line changes with the intension of dividing the populations equally.

State law requires the county to adopt those new boundary lines by December 1, 2011. Pima County’s population is estimated at 980,263, and the most populous district is Carroll’s District 4, while Eías’ District 5 is the least populous.

While the Skinny’s heard Republican Day may not run for reelection, her aide Valerie Samoy-Alvarado said Day won’t make an announcement regarding her plans until August.

District 26 Republican State Representative Vic Williams is rumored as interested in Day’s District 1 seat, but Williams told The Range it’s too soon for anyone to confirm or file election papers.

“I’m not trying to be evasive,” Williams said. “Once again, I will take a look at all the possibilities.”

Williams added that he may run for reelection, but don’t count him out of other races, including Pima County Board of Supervisors or state Senate.

As redistricting process moves forward across the state, Williams said anything is possible in Pima County and Sen. Al Melvin’s District 26 seat, which could be split near SaddleBrooke.

“Those who are filing for these campaigns are being premature,” Williams said. “There are a lot of people interested in different offices, but until we know what the districts look like it’s too early.”

One of those early filers is Adam Kwasman, who filed for District 26 house race on May 26 and formally announced his campaign yesterday.

The Range just got off the phone with Kwasman, who managed the unsuccessful campaign of Republican Jesse Kelly against Democrat Gabrielle Giffords last year. We'll have more on that conversation shortly, but in the meantime, you can see what he’s offering at his campaign Web site.

Tucson Weekly summer intern Celia Ampel visited the downtown studio of Crane Day who showed her his woven creations and a bit of the process behind them.