There is a freeze warning for Tucson and Southern Arizona for Monday night into Tuesday morning. Temperatures are predicted for 32 degrees. Your home could be 4-10 degrees cooler, especially if you live near a wash.

Plant Protection List:
~ Most plants should be plenty wet from yesterday's rains. Potted plants under a ramada or roof need to be checked to make sure the soil is damp.
~ Cover newly planted tender annuals and vegetables with frost cloth.
~ Weight them down with rocks or clothes pins.
~ Do not use towels or plastic covers.

• Potted Plant with Frost Cover

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The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund isn't letting go.

On Thursday, March 15, MALDEF, representing the Mendoza plaintiffs against the Tucson Unified School District in the ongoing desegregation legal battles, asked the court to reconsider its order from late February that denied the immediate return of the dismantled Mexican-American studies classes.

Here is a copy of MALDEF's March 15 motion.

The motion references a Feb. 2 filing by MALDEF when it first requested the classes be returned. You can read that motion here

In a note from Mendoza representative Sylvia Campoy, below the cut, she explains that in the latest filing MALDEF points out the error in keeping the Mexican-American studies classes from returning:

The incoming storm has led to the postponement of Sunday's scheduled spring training game at Kino Stadium.

The news release:

TUCSON — With severe weather and cold temperatures expected Sunday, the game between the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 22 at 1:05 pm at Kino Stadium. Gates will open at 11:30 am Thursday.

All tickets purchased for Sunday’s game can be used for the rescheduled date on Thursday, March 22. Seat locations will remain the same and fans do not have to exchange their tickets.

Refunds are available for fans that cannot make the rescheduled game Thursday. Fans who want a refund must contact the Tucson Padres before Thursday by calling (520) 434-1367, emailing [email protected] or by visiting the box office in person. The box office is open from 10:00 am — 1:00 pm Sunday and 10:00 am — 5:00 pm on weekdays.

Additionally, fans may exchange tickets for Sunday’s game for Tucson Padres regular season vouchers if they notify the Tucson Padres before Thursday. For every $20 spent on Rockies vs. Padres tickets, fans can receive $30 worth of Tucson Padres box seat vouchers, good for any game except July 3. Again, for refunds or ticket voucher exchanges, fans must notify the Tucson Padres before Thursday’s game.

“We would like to thank the San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies for making a quick decision to reschedule this game. Both teams were tremendous,” said Mike Feder, Tucson Padres Vice President and General Manager.

The big storm that's supposed to arrive later today and cause lots of rain tomorrow, with snow (!) possible on Monday, has claimed Solar Rock (which was scheduled for tomorrow, aka Sunday) as its first victim.

Here's the news release from Cpley Ward at the Food Conspiracy Co-op:

Dear liberal media,

Rock bands can’t perform in the rain, and that’s why we’ve decided to cancel this year’s Solar Rock event. Also, we were worried the strong winds (45 mph gusts are predicted) would present a safety hazard with all the tents our vendors would set up in the park.

Cyclovia and the Water Festival will still go on as planned.

We know some folks will be bummed to miss a chance to learn about the many benefits of solar power. I’d suggest those folks consider attending the Solar Potluck organized by Citizens for Solar in April. More on that event here: http://citizensforsolar.org

There are currently no plans to reschedule Solar Rock, but if that changes we’ll let you know. Thanks for helping to get the word out.

No big deal, just Bozo the Clown speaking Portuguese introducing a disco group made up of people in superhero costumes. You probably see stuff like this all the time.

• Jim Nintzel

So I haven't posted much from SXSW, mostly because I've been too busy soaking up the music and the scene, which is loud and crazy and chaotic and crowded. Or, as Bruce Springsteen put it during his two-hour, 40-minute concert, SXSW is some "mutant teenager's wet dream."

Yeah, that's right: I was lucky enough to win the Golden Ticket of this year's festival: TIckets to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in the intimate setting of the Moody Theater, the set of Austin City Limits. It was as good as it gets for a kid who was born in Jersey (although I got out while I was young). The songs I loved when I was a kid—“Badlands," "Promised Land" and (are you kidding me?) "The E Street Shuffle"—and plenty of guest stars, including Jimmy Cliff, Tom Morello, Alexandro Escovedo and even Arcade Fire. The tribute to Clarence Clemons during "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" brought a few tears to my eyes and the finale of "This Land Is Your Land" was a heartfelt tribute to Woody Guthrie's legacy.

I'll have more on the whole trip later (because I can't spend any more time hanging out in the hotel room), but here's a review of the show, courtesy of the Chicago Tribune:

• Charlie Levy

Almost lost in the all-star revolving door was that the show marked a new beginning for Springsteen and the retooled E Street Band, which was gearing up to promote the singer's latest album, "Wrecking Ball," on an international stadium tour this year. The band has suffered loses of founding members Danny Federici and Springsteen foil Clarence Clemons in recent years. Springsteen has responded by expanding the band to 17 pieces, including a five-deep horn section and three backing singers.

For the last decade, E Street shows have taken on a more pronounced gospel-soul vibe, and this set took that impulse even further. With massed voices abetted by horns, this was a band (or mini-orchestra) built for raising the cathedral roof, and there was a new energy on stage that was apparent from the get-go: a stirring a cappella intro to Woody Guthrie's "I Ain't Got No Home," which morphed into a string-band hymn.

Stripping away some of the sheen that deadens the studio versions of his recent songs, "We Take Care of Our Own" and "Wrecking Ball" sounded bolder, tougher, angrier than on record. "Badlands" came crashing out of the gate with no less than five guitars thrashing away. Morello joined for the Irish stomp "Death to My Hometown" and made his guitar sound like an electrified tin whistle.

The expanded lineup and the cameos helped ease the band into a new era, a strength-in-numbers strategy that echoed Springsteen's brief toast to his fallen band members: "If you're here and we're here, they're here.

Straight out of Oklahoma and brandishing a southern-flavored style of stoner rock, Other Lives managed to quell the wicked temper of Thom Yorke's groupies and rabid Radiohead fans alike as they opened for Glendale's sold-out performance at the Jobing.com Arena.

Frontman Jesse Tabish's lowing melodic voice carries with it all the gravitas of something you would expect in a Radiohead pairing— but backup vocalist and cellist Jenny Hsu provides a dreamlike falsetto that blends Other Lives' crunchy guitar and heavily constructed moody sound with the innocence and freshness of a glockenspiel.

As the band crooned about subjects like "moving westward," Hsu's ultralight voice mixed with a well-placed reverb pedal lulled the audience into a hypnotic and satisfied sense of captivation.

Overall, Other Lives was a perfect blend of bands like Wilco, The National, and Sleepy Sun but with more of a multi-instrumentalist kick than usual. Keep an eye out for them.

Radiohead wowed fans as usual with their over-the-top wundershow, complete with 18 gigantic revolving LED plasma screens live-recording the artists' faces as they laid out favorite jams old and new.

Personally, I find Radiohead's newer stuff to be extremely boring, but even their newest techno-stripped beats were visually dazzling. As I stood in the crowd on the floor, hundreds towering over my measly 5'2" stature, I watched Yorke and fellow Radioheads bop around to what I imagine was the majority of APS's power load last night.

Whether you're a superfan or a casual listener, Thursday's show was a blast of sound and visuals to say the least.

Oh, and Yorke ended the show with "Paranoid Android". And even I kind of lost it.

Local film company Authentic Productions presents their best 2001 short films tonight at 9 p.m. at the Crossroads 6 Grand Cinemas, 4811 E. Grant Road. $7.

Film descriptions from a press release:

“Lionhearted” tells the story of a young boy and his journey to becoming a young man following a nuclear attack on his hometown. Directed and written by Tim Marin.

“The Elevator,” is a comedy of a young man who keeps bumping into a beautiful woman in an elevator and tries to muster the courage to talk to her, directed and written by Zacharia Lorenz.

The "Is Blake A Douche?" a mockumentary/comedy that was written and directed by Daniel Geffre, who also stars in the short. The mockumentary follows a journalist who goes around town interviewing friends and family members of a man by the name of Blake Bradford, to find out if he’s a douche.

The main feature of the night is “S.O.L.” directed and co-written by Yuri Machado. “S.O.L.” is a comedy about the relationships between four male friends and the way they interact with the opposite sex, starring Nathan O. Miller and Fernando Aguilar.

Following each film there will be a Q and A for each filmmaker and the cast and crew involved. There will also be a raffle for a signed DVD and poster of “S.O.L.” For ages 16 and up, due to language, drug use and sexual content featured in some of the films.

At 5 p.m. tonight, Nuestra Palabra's Tony Diaz and his bus of 60 Latino writers, artists and activists—all supporters of Tucson Unified School District's dismantled Mexican-American studies program—will be in Tucson on their Librotraficante caravan, bringing a truck full of those wet books that the school district continues to explain away and argue away regarding the definition of "banned."

If you still haven't made plans for the weekend, perhaps celebrating Latino literature with Diaz and his Librotraficante All-Stars would be a good start. It's no coincidence that Diaz picked Saturday night to end the caravan's arrival: Rather than call it a St. Paddy's Party, Diaz is reminding us of the very history the state wants taken out of our schools with the Santo Patricio Battalion Celebration: Ireland and Mexico.

It's a nod to those Irish-Catholic soldiers who made up the San Patricio Battalion with the Mexican army during the Mexican-American War. The men in the battalion were Irish immigrants who felt a kinship with the Mexican soldiers they were fighting, and they left their U.S. ranks to fight on the Mexican side.

The party starts at 10 p.m. at the Hotel Arizona lobby, 181 W. Broadway Blvd., and goes on until 2 a.m. Meet banned book authors, educators, ethnic studies supporters, community organizations, leaders and Mr. Librotraficante, Tony Diaz of Nuestra Palabra and the Latino Cultural Caucus. Local comedian Juaquin Murrieta will emcee the night.

A suggested donation of a $5 cover will go to help fund the caravan's trip back to Houston. There will also be an art display by Tucson artists Chris Leon and Ruben Urrea Moreno, and more entertainment from Hip Hop artists DJ BobZilla and garage cumbia from Vox Urbana.

It's Batman! From THE FUTURE! Also, Eric references the Juggalos.