Local renaissance man and community leaders were given some of the highest honors at the Governor's Arts Awards Tuesday night.

Tucson's very own Daniel Buckley was awarded artist of the year. Buckley wrote September's unforgettable cover story Why Linda Ronstadt Still Matters to Tucson:

Daniel Buckley (Tucson) spent 22 years with the Tucson Citizen as a music and culture writer, on the editorial board and created its web-based multimedia division while building a reputation as an authority on classical and world music, mariachi, Native American music and southwestern cultural expressions. After the paper closed, he started a documentary film series, Cine Plaza, at the Fox Theatre, an oral history series focusing on the political and social evolution of Tucson’s Mexican-American population. A pioneer of performance art in Tucson, he currently is developing documentary works for the Arizona Historical Society and he is working on a new project of large-scale desert landscape photography.

The UA Poetry Center received the Community award:

University of Arizona Poetry Center (Tucson) is a significant national center for the appreciation and enjoyment of poetry and literature. Dedicated in 1960 by Robert Frost and located in one of three landmark buildings for poetry in the U.S., the Poetry Center’s world-renowned library of contemporary poetry and diversity of literary programs serve more than 30,000 people year. The Poetry Center also is a leader in developing poetry curricula in Arizona and provides online resources for teachers and parents. More than 1,000 poets and writers have been presented to southern Arizona audiences through the Poetry Center including the state’s new Poet Laureate, Alberto Rios.

All of us at the Weekly would like to congratulate Buckley and the folks at the UA Poetry Center for winning these prestigious awards. You all help keep Tucson artsy.

• Image courtesy of shutterstock.com

Invest in Arizona's future.

Heroica Nogales-born artist Paco Valdez and his wife Sarah K. Smith no longer live in Tucson (yes, work took them to Seattle, but they still hold strong roots here and I suspect that one day they'll be back—they always come back), but they are still with us in spirit. Valdez operated and worked from Studio One at the tool shed and at area schools, and Smith worked in education outreach for Centennial Hall. Friends of the couple also know their four legged companion Milo.

Well, Milo has a benign tumor growing under his eyelid and it needs to be removed right away. Without the surgery, the tumor will grow and damage his cornea. Valdez and Smith are asking for donations on YouCaring.com. The estimated expenses could amount to $1,500 and so far they've raised $490—Milo and his parents can use your help. Maybe, if you give a little, you can ask the couple if you can spend a little time with the pooch the next they visit—it will make you realize your donation, big or small, was well worth it.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson bestowed some images of himself in the upcoming film Hercules, and July can't come fast enough. We have seen him as the People's Champ to the tooth fairy, but never considered what he would look like as a statuesque greek god.

EXCLUSIVE first look..#HERCULES The world's first superhero. #TilDeathOrVictory pic.twitter.com/NXZp8JfWo5
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) March 24, 2014

"Become the man you were born to be" EXCLUSIVE first look #HERCULES movie poster. pic.twitter.com/OAOnTR8YFm
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) March 24, 2014

The 41-year-old actor knows no bounds. Johnson is still keeping a tight lip on which DC character he should play.

We here at Weekly World Central do our best to keep you updated on all the comings and goings around Tucson, whether it be in regards to politics, sports, arts and culture ... or wild, raging college parties.

A little more than a year after first making a name for themselves by chronicling one of Tucson's largest and craziest student parties, our friends at Blacked Out Media are at it again. And they promise this one will be the biggest (but also safest) soiree yet.

Blacked Out Media reps say the upcoming Spring Break After-Party on Friday, March 28 at student complex Stone Avenue Standard will be "even bigger" than the infamous Aussie Party and its short-run follow-up event, Friday the 15th.

For those who don't remember — shame on you! — the Aussie Party on Jan. 26, 2013 turned the courtyard of Stone Avenue Standard into a mosh pit of booze, DJs, sweaty young adults and minimal clothing ... exactly what any college kid could want from a party. That is, until someone decided to pull a gun and start firing shots into the air out in the parking lot.

Oral arguments in front of the U.S. Supreme Court cases began today brought by two for-profit corporations that claimed they have a right to deny their employees birth control under their health insurance plans. The companies are Hobby Lobby, a chain of arts and crafts stores with 21,000 employees, and Conestoga Wood Specialties, a cabinet manufacturer.

According to Planned Parenthood, what the Court decides could set a dangerous precedent for millions. This would allow businesses to deny their employees a whole host of other medical procedures to which they are legally entitled, based solely on their personal beliefs—procedures and treatments like vaccines, surgeries, blood transfusions, or mental health care.

CNN:

A key provision of the health care reform law championed by President Barack Obama came under harsh criticism from the conservative majority of the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

The justices debated a hotly contested issue testing the limits of government-mandated contraception coverage, specifically involving for-profit corporations that object to it for religious reasons.

The justices appeared divided along ideological lines in a 90-minute oral argument, with the federal government offering a spirited defense of the Affordable Care Act.

"How does a corporation exercise religion?" asked Justice Sonia Sotomayor, summarizing perhaps the key constitutional question at hand.

"This is a religious question," said Justice Samuel Alito, suggesting the businesses have such a right. "You want us to provide a definitive secular answer."

Before the hearing began, hundreds of demonstrators representing both sides of the issue rallied in front of the courthouse on Capitol Hill.

The court is reviewing provisions of the Affordable Care Act requiring for-profit employers of a certain size to offer insurance benefits for birth control and other reproductive health services without a co-pay.

At issue is whether certain companies can refuse to do so on the sincere claim it would violate their owners' long-established personal beliefs.

Two separate appeals are being heard together.

The outcome was uncertain, but the court could cast preliminary votes later this week. A final written ruling is expected by late June.

The cases involve two appeals from Conestoga Wood Specialties. The companion legal challenge comes from Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma-based arts and crafts retail giant. The Hahn family owns Conestoga and the Green family owns Hobby Lobby.

Both corporations emphasize their desire to operate in harmony with biblical principles while competing in a secular marketplace. That includes their leaders' publicly stated opposition to abortion.

The cases present a complex mix of legal, regulatory, and constitutional concerns— over such hot-button issues as faith, abortion, corporate power, executive agency discretion, and congressional intent.

The application deadline for the 12th annual PFLAG scholarships in partnership with the LGBT-Straight Alliance Fund of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona is Monday, March 31.

From Tucson PFLAG:

This year again, at least six $1,000 scholarships will be awarded through the PFLAG scholarship application process. These include the following:

Five Joint PFLAG/Alliance Fund $1,000 Gene Moore Memorial Scholarships,
(in memory of PFLAG's past president)
One $1,000 Mark and Art Woodland Memorial Scholarship
(in memory of the son and husband of Elaine Woodland)

For 2014 our scholarship program is again supported in part by funds from the LGBT—Straight Alliance Fund, a fund held at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona. PFLAG Tucson has been awarded a $2,500 matching grant, allowing us to award five joint $1,000 scholarships in the name Gene Moore, our past president, to LGBT persons from southern Arizona to attend an institution of higher education. We will also award one $1,000 scholarship in the name of Mark and Art Woodland, the son and husband of long-time PFLAG member Elaine. Mark passed away in 2010 and Art in 2011. The application deadline is March 31, 2014.

Scholarship requirements are as follows:
•Must be a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender person from southern Arizona, and
•Must be accepted to an institution of higher education for the period for which the scholarship is requested.

A complete application packet shall consist of:
1.The application (personal information page). You may download this here: Word document or pdf document (to save to your hard disk, right-click a link and choose "Save target as");
2. An essay detailing the applicant’s plan for higher education, activities within the community, and why PFLAG Tucson and the Alliance Fund should award a scholarship to them;
3.Two letters of recommendation (one must be from someone other than a family member); and,
4.A copy of the student’s admission acceptance letter (if the applicant is a current student, then a copy of the most recent grade report).

The essay should be typed, double-spaced, no longer than two one-sided pages or one front-to-back page, and detailed enough to describe the applicant and his/her situation to the committee. Any information that is provided will be used only to select the most worthy candidates and will be kept in the strictest confidence. If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected] or call us at (520) 360-3795.

All information must be submitted to the following address in one envelope and postmarked by March 31, 2014:

PFLAG Tucson Scholarship Application
P O Box 36264
Tucson AZ 85740-6264

The applications for the PFLAG Tucson Scholarships are reviewed by the Board of Directors, or by a committee established by the Board. Applications will be judged on an individual basis using only the information provided by the applicant. All applicants will be notified by mail of the committee’s decisions by April 30, 2014.

The board of directors of PFLAG Tucson and their families are excluded from receiving or applying for this scholarship.

Waiting for something to come from the internet is one of those 21st century hardships that will never improve. Sometimes you're lucky if your package comes in one piece or the homeless dude that sleeps by the art cooperative down the street doesn't steal it. Some unfortunate schmuck in a rural area has the worst USPS deliver person in the world, and he or she has been documenting the careless drop offs.

Speaking the truth in love, according to Pat Robertson, is the best way to deal with someone who just doesn't want to be proselytized, but maybe, just maybe, the person is rejecting Jesus because of deeper reasons.

The 700 Club host tossed out that the person asking for advice might be dealing with something that's demonic or ... "It's something beyond normal human experience, something has happened and she associates God—maybe she had an abusive father, somebody who raped her and then acted like he was preaching to her from the Bible ..."

Yeah, maybe that happened.