Z Gallerie is closing its stylish doors at the Park Place Mall, 5870 E. Broadway Blvd.

We spoke with Z Gallerie manager Joel Hathaway on the phone about the unfortunate news. The store manager has been employed with the company for nine years. Hathaway said the store employed, "about 10 employees." The corporate California chic furniture and home decor store is offering 70% off everything, according to the signs on the windows.

In the final AZ Illustrated Politics episode of 2013, former lawmaker Jonathan Paton, Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President Lea Marquez-Peterson and attorney Jeff Rogers look back at the biggest political stories of 2013, including the battle over immigration reform, Gov. Jan Brewer's successful fight against her own Republican Party to expand Medicaid to low-income Arizonans, the disastrous rollout of Obamacare and the referendum to force a new law overhauling the state's election laws to the ballot in 2014.

PETA activists staged an alluring protest in the heart of downtown Tucson earlier this afternoon. The animal rights organization rounded up some local members to encourage Tucsonans to stop eating meat and “Go Vegan” in the most visually attractive way possible. What’s the best way to get people to stop eating animal products?

Using half naked women to pretend they’re dead animals seems to be pretty effective.

Young female protesters were holding signs that read "Try to Relate to Who's on the Plate" and "Animals Have the Same Parts: GO VEGAN" on the corner of West Congress street and North Stone Avenue. The animal rights activist stood in front of Michelle Rios, while she laid on the ground topless, curled up next to a bed of salad on a giant white plate with an over-sized knife and fork. The blonde woman uses her arms to to shield her breasts and nipples that were cover with band aids. There was barbecue sauce splattered on her pale skin and almost see through underwear. Her shivering legs were tucked against her bare stomach. She closed her eyes and tried to lay still while pedestrians and drivers were taking pictures and staring at her semi-nude body in broad daylight.

PETA Campaigner Matt Bruce, 31, came down from Los Angeles to stage this peaceful protest. "This is part of a national PETA campaign. We are hitting cities all over the country during this season of giving to encourage people to give animals a chance and leave them off their plates," Bruce said.

"Factory pigs have their teeth, tails and testicals removed without pain killers," Bruce said right before a rear end collision occurred behind us. "Accidents happen, but not as often as you think," Bruce chuckles. Bruce said once a driver jumped a curb and almost hit an exhibit.

The Parish will finally reopen its doors today at 5 p.m. The fusion gastropub has been closed since Dec. 1 for renovations and expansion. There will be a limited dining menu, but the bar will be fully stocked, according to the Parish Facebook page.

UPDATE: The Parish is taking their sweet time and will re-open the bar tomorrow, according to the Parish Facebook event page:

The Humane Society of Southern Arizona presents Luis, a 3-year-old, Shepherd Mix
Reference no.: 769083

If it’s a cheerful go-getter you’re looking for, Luis may be the dog for you! This spunky sweetheart has a warm personality, loyalty, courage and smarts galore. He enjoys being close to his favorite people and performing tricks in exchange for treats. Anything to impress you! Luis would do best with an active family willing to continue his training. Because of his exuberant nature, Luis needs to find a family without young children, and he will need to meet any canine members of your household. Once you get to know this big goofy lug, you’ll be head over heels. If you could be his holiday miracle, please get to know lovable Luis today at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd. Call 327-6088 for more info.

Today marks another win for civil equality and humanity.

New Mexico is officially the 17th state plus the District of Columbia to allow same sex marriage. The New Mexico Supreme Court declared it is unconstitutional to deny a marriage license to gay and lesbian couples. There were eight counties issuing marriage licenses before the law was ratified, according to AP.

Former NM Governor Gary Johnson celebrated the news on Twitter:

Just announced: New Mexico Supreme Court upholds #marriageequality. Great news in my home state! http://t.co/AszSXr6Qlp #tlot
— Gov. Gary Johnson (@GovGaryJohnson) December 19, 2013

Finally, the members of Pussy Riot were given amnesty and released three months earlier than expected.

The feminist punk rockers were wrongfully arrested for performing Punk Prayer: Mother of God Drive Putin Away from Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral in February 2012. Nadya Tolokonnikova, 24, and Maria Alekhina, 25, were charged with "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred or hostility."

Pussy Riot and 30 other protesters were freed because of a new Russian law that granted prisoners amnesty "who haven't committed violent crimes, first-time offenders, minors and women with small children" passed earlier this week, according to AP.

During their time, Alekhina went on a hunger strike and Tolokonnikova wrote an open letter, protesting the treatment of prisoners. Just days after that letter was posted, she disappeared for 21 days during a prison transfer, showing up in a Siberian prison hospital.

Unfortunate news from the world of local talk radio as John C. Scott will be off KVOI after his show Friday, with no plan to return to local airwaves.

From our neighboring publication, Inside Tucson Business:

Scott said KVOI president and manager Doug Martin told him Tuesday his show was incompatible with the conservative vision of the station.

“He said he was pressured by his board to remove the show and I can only take him at this word. They said we were incompatible with the rest of the station,” Scott said....

Martin said his board did not like the show and that he kept hearing from listeners that they were turning the show off at 3 p.m. because it seemed to them like an infomercial.

Scott sells sponsorships to his show and does remotes, lately on Tuesdays at the HabiStore and Fridays at the Tobacco Barn, where he spends a few minutes and the top and bottom of every hour interviewing the owners about their stores and specials.

“I like John, a lot. But we thought this was the best for the station and our listeners,” Martin said.

While yes, Scott's weekday time slot on what's ostensibly a Christian conservative talk station was a little strange, but a media landscape with plenty of conservative talkers, including a bunch of local ones who range in their understanding of local issues from entertainers with occasional flashes of intelligent thought to barely comprehensible, this is not just KVOI's loss, but Tucson's as a whole.

Despite the fact that John let me spend ten minutes or so on his show every week, he otherwise consistently had great guests, the policymakers of this city, this county and the state and he asked them tough questions, demanding that they take stands on the issues. Sure, his takes were more liberal than the Michael Medved and Hugh Hewiit shows that came on before and after Scott's show (and who will enjoy expanded time here in Tucson next week when Scott's gone), but in essence, John always attempted to be a voice for pragmatism and governments that work.

There's no argument that can be made that this decision was made in the public interest, but instead, KVOI's board, made up (as far as I can tell) of very conservative Christian types, seemingly tired of having to explain to their church friends why Scott's show got to be on air. I'll miss being on John's show and I'll miss it being on air. Surely, there are shows with better ratings (although in Tucson talk radio, the difference between "success" and "failure" can be the difference of a few hundred listeners), but I'm not sure there's a local show with more influence, that has a more accomplished and important listenership.

Ray Carroll upon hearing the news told Jim Nintzel "John is a legend who stretches back decades. He and [his wife] Amy and Mark [his son, who produces the show] have been so involved in the community...To do this right before Christmas is less than good timing."

Supervisor Carroll is right. It's definitely poor timing, but more importantly, it's a poor decision made shortsightedly by KVOI.

Nursing from Cronkite News on Vimeo.

By KAY MILLER TEMPLE
Cronkite News Service

PHOENIX – Getting top grades, serving as president of her student nursing association and networking with professionals didn’t get Chloe Burtcher the nursing job she knew was her calling when she received an associate degree from Yavapai College in 2012.

“We were told from the first day of nursing school that it was going to be hard to get a job, but I knew I could beat any odds,” she said.

Burtcher said she didn’t give up despite rejection after rejection. She enrolled in more nursing classes and volunteered for hospitals doing blood pressure and cholesterol checks at public screening events. She started a Facebook page to connect other new registered nurses seeking jobs with volunteer opportunities.

After nearly a year, Burtcher found a hospital job that she said will give her the experience she needs to someday become a nurse practitioner, a nurse who can take care of patients without a physician’s oversight.

“I knew I just needed to keep my heart in it and I’d finally get to where I wanted to be,” Burtcher said.

Nursing has long been considered a career with boundless demand, in part due to Arizona’s rapid growth, but recent years have seen a tightening job market. Experts, educators and leaders in the field of nursing point to the economic downturn, a state mandate that colleges and universities turn out more nurses and changes in the nature of health care as reasons.

Surveys by Arizona State Board of Nursing found that during the past three years almost 20 percent of the state’s new registered nurses were unemployed after a year. For those who got jobs, nearly 40 percent had job searches lasting nine months or more, even after sending out more than 50 resumes for any available clinical job, any shift, almost anyplace in the state.

Robin Schaeffer, executive director of the Arizona Nurses Association, which represents 80,000 Arizona nurses, said she worries the current struggles faced by many nursing graduates will lead to a shortage of those wishing to become nurses when demand picks up again.

“If we don’t work this out, we will be in trouble,” she said.

The tight job market has come as a surprise for many new registered nurses.

Kristen Cleary, who graduated from Arizona State University in 2012, said she was lucky to get a hospital job in Tucson after a three-month search in which she sent dozens of resumes.

“When you start nursing school, you have the impression that school is the hard part,” Cleary said. “But that’s not the case; it’s getting the job.”