A personal anecdote: the other day, a friend and I were talking about Chick-fil-A. He's a progressive, ethically concerned guy and went there with his family for Dress Like a Cow Day or whatever its called. He called a friend of his to invite him, who refused to go because of the company's anti-gay stance. I really love their sandwiches, so we were talking about the line of how much stuff we don't like we should put up with from giant corporations, and I said that I thought Chick-fil-A was more pro-family values than decidedly anti-equality. Turns out, the company's president Dan Cathy heard my mild defense and wanted to set the record straight in the Baptist Press:

He started off making some sense:

"We don't claim to be a Christian business," Cathy said in a recent visit to North Carolina...

"In that spirit ... [Christianity] is about a personal relationship. Companies are not lost or saved, but certainly individuals are," Cathy added.

Hey, Christians are allowed to own businesses, right? I'm a Christian, I just would prefer companies just stick to selling delicious sandwiches and not get all creepy and hateful.

Of course, Cathy didn't stop there:

Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.

"We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.

"We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized.

"We intend to stay the course," he said. "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

Sigh. How's the chicken sandwich at Church's? Anyone know if they'll put a pickle on it?

Hat tip to to Poco Bravo's Luke Knipe who happened to stick around till the end of the Tucson Unified School District meetingon Tuesday, July 10, to report that board member Mark Stegeman put on the list of future agenda items a possible resolution to un-ban the seven books originally taken out of the Mexican-American studies classrooms in January.

Here's is Stegeman's request:
book_un-ban.pdf

Yesterday, organizers with Freedom Summer, a group of local and national MAS activists doing canvassing and outreach projects this summer, sent out a press release with UNIDOS that there will be a press conference today at noon in front of Stegeman's house at 85 N. Sierra Vista Drive.

Their press release and Stegeman's campaign email, below the cut.

The response to us reporting that beloved local pizza joint Zachary's is closing has been enormous. Employees say the place has been flooded with customers since we broke the news and the Arizona Daily Star published their own story yesterday, so brace yourselves for some serious business Zachary's workers.

Of all the comments and e-mails the story inspired, this one posted recently by Phoenix resident Tracy Gallagher Benjamin takes the cake:

We named our first born after Zachary's Pizza. He is now 13 years old. We love the pizza : Double Whammy with Garlic and Pepperoni and love the beer selection! We haven't been in years! We live in Phoenix now but will try to make it back before they close. So sad. Z's PIzza: you'll be missed!!

Enough said. Oh, and if you are planning on going down there before Zack's closes at the end of the month, they're only taking cash.

Admittedly, I live in a mildly insular world working at the Weekly, but it's a little difficult for me to imagine too many people who are incredibly impressed by a Jan Brewer endorsement. Yes, I'm aware that she won a statewide election in 2010, but it seems like that the people who would be turned off by a Brewer endorsement would (at least) slightly outnumber the people who would be super excited by the championing. However, the people of CD 1 to decide:

Jonathan Paton's work for Arizona earned him a good friend: Gov. Janice K. Brewer.

And now, Brewer is supporting his effort to take Arizona's fight to Washington, D.C.

"In the battle between Arizona and an overreaching federal government, Jonathan Paton is on our side. That is why I am proud to endorse him, why I am working hard to help him win," Brewer said.

Paton is running in Congressional District 1, which runs from Marana, north through eastern Arizona to Flagstaff and the Navajo Nation.

Brewer said Paton represents Arizona values.

"As a State Senator, Jonathan was a leader in the fight for smaller government, less regulation and lower taxes," Brewer said. "He provided a key vote in support of SB 1070, and he stands with Arizona in our fight for a safe and secure border. Like me, he is committed to a strong economy, quality job growth and better schools for our children."

Paton praised Brewer for initiating the Arizona Comeback.

"Gov. Brewer has overseen a dramatic turnaround in Arizona's economy," Paton said. "I'm proud to have her support as I campaign to overturn Obamacare, reduce federal regulation and improve economic opportunities in rural Arizona."

More on this race next Thursday in our cover story.

It's already been an odd week for KWFM 1330 AM. The station surprised listeners with an apparent format switch from its liberal talk lineup to music, with Alan Michaels at the helm. However, as of Tuesday afternoon it was back to talk, and figures to stay that way for the meantime. Michaels, the station's Operation Manager, says KWFM had satellite issues over the weekend, and the equipment malfunction affected most of the station's syndicated talk programming.

KWFM wasn't able to get the issue fixed until Tuesday, so Michaels in a pinch did what he's done for decades as one of the market's best known music personalities: play music. But now that the satellite equipment is up and running again, so is the station's syndicated lineup of progressive talk fare.

The Baffler's Thomas Frank, who you might remember from his book What's the Matter with Kansas?, has a brutal takedown on the idea of "vibrancy" out now, a meaningless idea that somehow has come to symbolize all that is good and wonderful about modern cities, even to our own Imagine Greater Tucson (as seen above):

Even ArtPlace, the big vibrancy project of the NEA, the banks, and the foundations, is not entirely sure that vibrancy can be observed or quantified. That’s why the group is developing what it calls “Vibrancy Indicators”: “While we are not able to measure vibrancy directly,” the group’s website admits, “we believe that the measures we are assembling, taken together, will provide useful insights into the nature and location of especially vibrant places within cities.”

What are those measures? Unfortunately, at press time, they had not yet been announced. But a presentation of preliminary work on the “Vibrancy Indicators” did include this helpful directive: “Inform leaders of the connection between vibrancy and prosperity.”

Got that? We aren’t sure what vibrancy is or whether or not it works, but part of the project is nevertheless “informing” people that it does. The meaninglessness of the phrase, like the absence of proof, does not deter the committed friend of the vibrant: if you know it’s the great good thing, you simply push ahead, moving all before you with your millions.

I certainly hope that this event turns into a delightful indie rock adventure and not the subject of a future disaster film scored by Yo La Tengo, but if you have a bunch of money and want to see Pulp, Hot Chip and a bunch of Pitchfork-friendly acts, perhaps you'll want to book a cabin on the S.S. Coachella:

Reflecting a growing trend of youth-focused music cruises, Coachella will introduce the S.S. Coachella in December, with two trips through the Caribbean featuring Pulp, Hot Chip, Girl Talk, Yeasayer, Sleigh Bells, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem and about 15 other acts...

Goldenvoice, the Los Angeles concert promoter behind Coachella, resisted jumping on the bandwagon until it found what Paul Tollett, its president, described as the perfect vessel: the Celebrity Silhouette, a 1,000-foot, 122,000-ton ship with room for 2,800 fans, cabana-style alcoves and a small theater that Mr. Tollett called a “mini Royal Albert Hall.”

“It even has a half-acre of grass,” he added. “It wouldn’t be Coachella without grass.”

Both voyages leave from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with a three-day tour going to the Bahamas on Dec. 16 and a four-day journey to Jamaica starting on Dec. 19. For fans willing to pile four to a cabin — the closest thing to camping when it comes to high-seas travel — prices start at $500 a person, and there are nine other price levels, going up to $9,000 a person for a “sky suite” with veranda.

Prices include lodging, food and entertainment, but not transportation to Florida or bar tabs.

i97.5 has seemed to be a bad idea from its very inception, unless the Tucson radio market was secretly dreaming of another KRQ, minus Johnjay and Rich and somewhat further down the dial. One bright spot was that the station at least focused on playing the hits (hey, it's that Pitbull song!) instead of the mix of the personality-driven shows with occasional bursts of music format that 93.7 is running with, so that was a slight improvement. However, that plan seems to have gone out the window, since i97.5 is broadcasting Perez Nights Live! for three hours each evening now. Perez Hilton, who was once a very big deal, I guess, seemingly lost quite a bit of influence in the pop culture landscape once the novelty of MS Paint altered photos wore off, but if you want "great music, the biggest stars and the kind of celeb juice [ed. note: gross] that can only be delivered by Perez," feel free to tune in weeknights on i97.5.

No word on whether Tucson is getting its Perez juice unadulterated or not, since the show's distributor (and owner of i97.5...coincidence!) offers a "a kinder, gentler version." Either way, anyone who happens to stumble upon his show still loses.

As an Arizona Republican, I appreciate the work the Center for Arizona Policy puts into keeping our state a high-ground of moral and economic standards. When some rogue legislator tried to crack down on bullying, the president of the CAP, Cathi Herrod, was there to make sure that God-fearing Arizona children would not need to hear ugly words or something. I wasn't entirely clear on that one.

Thankfully, the CAP has released the results of their pre-election survey of Arizona candidates (well, the Republican ones willing to respond, at least) to find out their positions on such issues as repealing Obamacare (yes!) to granting domestic partners the same benefits as married couples (no!).

However, one candidate wasn't willing to commit fully to the questioning process, leaving certain questions unanswered, so as part of our series "Asking Frank Antenori Questions He Won't Possibly Answer," we wonder:

Frank Antenori, what is your official policy regarding strippers?

One question on the survey for candidates seeking state office (which much to his chagrin, still includes Frank) was "Prohibiting touching or tipping dancers and fully nude performances in sexually oriented businesses...support or oppose?" This is an idea that the Center for Arizona Policy has floated before, going as far as convincing former Rep. Steve Court to introduce a bill that went nowhere.

Not surprisingly, most of the candidates who answered the survey in Southern Arizona (in LD 9, Ethan Orr actually submitted a nuanced explanation of how his political beliefs are informed by his faith but that he feels like our state's problems are more complex than a series of yes or no questions, of all things) were willing to come out as anti-stripper. Al Melvin? Anti-stripper. Ted Vogt? Anti-stripper. Todd Clodfelter? Seemingly pro-stripper, although it's possible he misunderstood the question.

Frank, however, didn't answer, so we're left to wonder whether he believes women (or possibly men) should be allowed to shake their money-makers in the state of Arizona?

What do you say, Frank?

If you're interested in the rest of the survey results, they can be found at the totally not-partisan-at-all site, azvoterguide.com.

There's a note on the Tucson Mall website indicating that it will soon be welcoming a Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill location. Here's a bit of description from the restaurant chain's website:

Frank Capri’s I Love This Bar & Grill, which is themed after Toby Keith’s hit song, is a restaurant every fan will love. Inspired by country star Toby Keith, it has quickly won over the hearts of diners all over the country, including Mesa Arizona, Minneapolis Minnesota, Rancho Cucamonga California, and Denver. More and more franchises of this restaurant are opening up, too.

Of course, these restaurants are named after Keith’s hit single from 2003, but you definitely will love this bar. The bars themselves in these locations are in the shape of giant guitars, creating a unique country music atmosphere that visitors will love. To complete the southern atmosphere at the bar, there are plenty of specialty cocktails to choose from, featuring everyone’s down-home favorites like Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort.

Anyone who loves country music will feel right home at these restaurants. The atmosphere is over-the-top country — in a good way. There are cowgirl servers and country music videos playing on every television screen. Several nights a week the bar hosts live country bands which make for a great night out — and when they don’t, there is a country DJ to play your favorite tunes.