The Tucson Jazz Institute "Concord" Combo started Monday's windy launch party on the Playground Bar & Lounge rooftop. The jazz band recently took first place in the High School Open Combo Division at this year's Next Generation Jazz Festival, and recently crowdfunded $11,000 to embark on a 7-day tour through Europe. The unofficial host of the evening was local attorney Elliot Glicksman, and he couldn't be more excited to announce the ambitious news. Glicksman is one of the many driving forces and sponsors in next year's HSL Properties: Tucson Jazz Festival.



The Jazz Fest will be a 10-day celebration starting on Friday, Jan. 16, until Sunday, Jan. 25. There will be a free outdoor concert on Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 19, tentatively located at the Mercado San Agustin. The intention is to bring thousands of people downtown, increase use of the streetcar and attract tourism during the winter season. "We are bringing some hot jazz under our winter sun," Mayor Jonathan Rothschild said at the press conference. 

The Fox Tucson Theatre, Rialto and Hotel Congress will be the primary locations for the predominantly downtown family event. The Festival's executive director Yvonne Ervin said that  Dianne Reeves and the Hot Sardines are the only confirmed act at this time. "January in Tucson is the perfect time to enjoy and celebrate jazz music," Ervin said.

Ervin was the founding director of the Tucson Jazz Society and marketing director for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. She coordinated the Mingus Festival in 1993, and organized the world's longest running women's jazz celebration: Primavera Jazz Fest. Ervin told me that she was the Weekly's first Jazz columnist. The Jazz Festival's artistic directors are L.A. Emmy Award-winning vocalist Jeff Haskell and managing director of Modern Works Music Publishing, Dan Coleman.


The event sponsors include Jim Click Automotive, Holualoa Companies, Tucson Jazz Society, Sinfonia HealthCare Corp., Law Office of JoJene Mills, P.C., Northern Trust Company and more.

Ervin says that offers have been made for some notable musicians, but plans on booking local and regional talent, to perform and open for the major acts.

For more information go to tucsonjazz.org and like the Facebook page for updates.

Prager University's Christina Hoff says we should let "boys be boys" and stop treating them like “defective girls.” In this video titled War on Boys, Hoff says boys are now falling behind academically, and winning less honor awards. The resident scholar poses four reforms that would help the boys, and I think this also applies to all genders.

The additional amendment I would pose to her list is process of failure. Kids are held to these ridiculous perfect standards, and are always fighting a win-or-lose battle. That's the major flaw in our education curriculum. They need to know what it's like to screw up and learn from their mistakes.

I'm not a teacher. Plus, I barely passed high school, so what do I know.

Looking for a laugh? Tucson is the 42nd funniest city in the U.S., according to some researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder. You might have noticed that there's an influx of national acts you only read or hear about on the sites like A.V. Club are touring through the Old Pueblo on regular basis. Three up and coming Texas based comedians are on a month long national tour across the west coast and they will be making a stop in Tucson.


JT Habersaat, Joe Staats and Jay Whitecotton are headlining Kevin William Lee's open mic show at Mr. Head's, 513 N. Fourth Ave. All the comedians have opened or performed with Doug Stanhope at one time or another. Depending on Stanhope's busy schedule, it's not uncommon for him to make a pitstop in Tucson and support his friends. That's me speculating, and I have been wrong before. So, don't take my word for it.

Naturally, some of Tucson's local comedians are scheduled to perform. 

Seating is limited. There's no cover charge. Show starts around 10:30 p.m. Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

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Robert Wallace of Houston, relationships can be challenging. I'm sure Nomi Mims, billed as a "dancer and comedian" of adult entertainment destination Treasures, was super-nice to you. I'm also sure it seemed like you two would last forever and why wouldn't it be a good idea to "loan" her money, a laptop, and your Harry Potter DVD set (of course)?

However, taking this disagreement to court THEN agreeing to go on television to discuss your "relationship"? Calling the people who book guests for episodes of Maury would have been a better and slightly more productive route, because at least you'd get a night in a New Jersey hotel room and a flight out of that, although you'd still be out the Harry Potter DVD set, I imagine.

It's sad that things didn't work out between you, average-ish white guy who likes to go to strip clubs, and tall, attractive "dancer and comedian" Nomi Mims, but I thank you both for creating a situation where the following line was uttered on a TV newscast:

“I’ve given him gifts too. You know, how do I get my booty and boobs back?”

We counted many, many ballots, figured out the top five in each of the 200 categories, so the second and final round of this year's Best of Tucson voting is online for your decision-making pleasure RIGHT NOW. 

Will someone dethrone Jon Justice in the Radio Personality or Best Radio Talk Show Host categories? Will our very own Henry Barajas take the first Best Local Comedian award? How hungry will you get reading through the Casual Dining, Restaurants and Comida categories? SO MUCH INTRIGUE, Y'ALL.

You have until June 30 to add your voice to the voting process. Sure, there are a lot of categories, but you only need to vote in 30 for your ballot to count (and two are taken up by your name and email address) and you can save your work and come back later. It'll be fun and you can consider yourself a little part of our biggest issue of the year, coming out on October 2. 

Thanks in advance, Tucson. We're looking forward to the results as much as anyone, honestly.

Summer is coming, so you know what that means. It's time to get your pet's shots up to date? Thanks to a grant from the Banfield Charitable Foundation, Pima Animal Care is providing free vaccine and wellness check ups to the first 100 responsible pet owners in Southern Arizona.


The selfless folks from the Banfield Pet Hospital and PetSmart are volunteering their time to help keep your cats and dogs healthy. They will be testing for heartworms, flea and tick treatment, six-month supply of heartgard product, distemper/parvovirus and rabies vaccine.

From the press release:

“Not only is a rabies vaccine required by law, it protects your pet against a fatal disease that can infect your human family members, too,” said Dr. Jen Wilcox, the shelter veterinarian at Pima Animal Care Center. “And parvo is an extremely common – but preventable – virus that leads to the death of thousands of puppies in our community each year. We are very grateful for Banfield’s assistance in protecting our community’s pets.” 

This is a $200 value, according to Pima Animal Care.

The doors open at noon and the services will be offered at the center located at 4000 N. Silverbell Road.

Click here or call  243-5900 for more information.

The Obama administration's Office of Management and Budget released a memo earlier today that listed a variety of reasons why senior advisors would recommend a veto of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act that passed the House Armed Services Committee last week.

Among the reasons cited: Southern Arizona Congressman Ron Barber's amendment preventing the Air Force from moving forward with plans to retire the A-10 Warthog. The fate of the Air Force combat jet has become a key debate in the race between Barber (D-CD2) and his likely Republican opponent, former A-10 pilot and squadron commander Martha McSally.

There are plenty of other policy issues that the Statement of Administrative Policy cites, including provisions limiting the ability of the administration to transfer prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, retention of all ICBM silos now in operation, and a provision that blocks the administration from proceeding with any plans to close any military bases. But Barber's amendment got special attention in the report.

You can read the entire memo here, but this is the section regarding the A-10:

Limitations on Retirement of Weapon Systems: The Administration strongly objects to provisions that would restrict the Department’s ability to retire weapon systems and aircraft platforms in accordance with current strategic and operational plans. These divestitures are critical and would free up funding for higher priority programs. Specifically, the Administration strongly objects to sections 131, 132, and 1026, which are inconsistent with DOD’s fiscal constraints and current priorities. Section 132 would restrict DOD from obligating or expending funds to retire A-10 aircraft. Divesting the A-10 will save over $4.2 billion through FY 2019. The joint force will retain several multi-mission aircraft capable of performing the close air support mission. The Administration also objects to the Committee authorizing Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding for the continued operation of the A- 10 fleet. Longstanding criteria for OCO eligibility clearly exclude such uses.

When life hands you lemons and foul balls, make lemonade and give it to the ladies. A young womanizer was collecting foul balls from Toronto Blue Jays third base coach Luis Rivera on Sunday. The Texans fan tried to be slick and pretend to give the baseball he caught to a pretty lady sitting behind him, but the MLB footage spotted him giving her a ball he already caught previously. It makes for good television and a good "How I Met Your Mother" story.

(via ESPN)

Today David Garcia, Democratic candidate for AZ Ed Supe, filed his signatures to get on the ballot.

Dr. David Garcia, candidate for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, officially filed his nominating petition signatures this morning.

Dr. Garcia and team turned in over 8,000 signatures, far surpassing the 4,804 signatures required to make the ballot.

Thanking his volunteers for their hard work, Dr. Garcia stated, “With more than 400 volunteers already signed on in support, we are poised to run one of the largest grassroots campaigns in the state. I’m looking forward to an exciting summer of voter outreach and numerous candidate debates.”

Dr. Garcia is an Associate Professor at ASU and the former Associate Superintendent of Public Instruction for Standards and Accountability. He is widely regarded as a national expert on education policy and research.

On Hupp's right flank, his Republican opponent, Diane Douglas, submitted her petitions as well. We'll get a chance to see if Hupp does the political hokey pokey in the primary ("You put your right foot in, and you shake it all about"). Douglas is way to his right, especially in her condemnation of Common Core. Will he call Douglas a "barbarian at the gate" during the campaign, or will he try and play nice with the right wing voters who hate the Common Core and vote way beyond their numbers in the primary?

Bacon brings folks together. This year's Arizona Bacon Fest is taking place from 6 to 10 p.m., Saturday, June 7, at the Kino Memorial Stadium, 2500 E. Ajo Way. The prices vary depending on your love for the pork goodness. Admission ranges from $45 to $100 VIP tickets. There will be 30 local eateries and 25 breweries at the event, according to the site.

Evolution and Love Boat are going to cover your favorite played out top hits.

There are no vegetarian options or clowns, according to the FAQ page. 


Click here for more information and here to buy your tickets.