It's been a rough week for journalism. We lost Bob Simon and David Carr. Brian Williams' life is kind of a mess.

And Jon Stewart is breaking our hearts and leaving the Daily Show. Looking forward, it's tough to imagine the Daily Show without Jon Stewart. He's been such a huge part of our culture since I was a child—so huge, I only seem comfortable saying his name in its entirety.

Two summers ago, John Oliver and his Danger Dance showed us that the Daily Show can be damn good with a different host. But it's pretty unlikely Oliver will be stepping into that seat again. Recently, when Stephen Colbert abandoned his Report, Larry Wilmore and the Nightly Show brought the first black host to late night TV.

Now, it's time to bring a female voice to the late night scene.

From Huffington Post:

There are exactly ZERO women hosting late-night TV shows right now. Despite the significant amount of recent late-night turnover — James Corden is succeeding Craig Ferguson, Stephen Colbert's exit to take over for David Letterman made way for Larry Wilmore, Seth Meyers took over for Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Fallon replaced Jay Leno—not one woman has been included in the shuffle. It looks as though NBC will actually air a sitcom about a woman in late-night before they hire a woman for late-night programming.

This egregious gender gap has nothing to do with a lack of talented women out there. (Jessica Williams! Samantha Bee! Kristen Schaal! Aisha Tyler! Lizz Winstead! Amy Poehler! Tina Fey! Sarah Silverman! Ellen Degeneres! Mindy Kaling! Kristen Wiig! The list goes on... and on... and on.) I've lost count of the number "___ People Who Could Replace ____ Who Aren't White Men" lists that have been published over the last few years, so clearly there are plenty of awesome potential choices.

Man, all of those suggestions sound great, but Jessica Williams and Samantha Bee are my top picks. They're both frequent, smart contributors to the show, and they're hilarious.  

Jessica Williams might be too new to the Fake News scene, but I've been a big fans of hers since her first show when she announced she had left college to join the Daily Show. Amusingly, a Hot Tub Time Machine 2 clip dated 2025 shows Williams as the new Daily Show host (and gives me hope for the future of a Jennifer Lawrence/Meryl Streep biopic called "Streepin' it real.")

Meanwhile, I can see hilarity and gender role hijinks if Samantha Bee takes over the hosting seat and has her husband Jason Jones remain a lowly (but beloved) Daily Show correspondent.

Who can best help the Daily Show succeed after Jon Stewart jumps ship?

Vanilla Raspberry Swirl! Happy Friday :)) #icecream #nondairy #tucson #vegan pic.twitter.com/9XUc516KCX

— Cashew Cow (@cashewcow) February 13, 2015

I was innocently scrolling through our Twitter feed when this photo popped up, reminding me that I owe a friend (and myself!) a trip to this delicious-looking establishment. 

The vegan ice creamery, located at 16 S. Eastbourne Avenue near Broadway Village, has been open since mid December. I can't believe I haven't made it in yet. Tell me—is it so delicious? 
 

I recently joined a League of Women Voters discussion with fellow reporters, politicians and political consultants about the 2014 elections, the influence of dark money on the campaigns and the reluctance of some Republican candidates to debate in the run-up to Election Day last year.

On hand for Is Democracy For Sale? Can the Voters Afford It?: GOP gubernatorial candidate Christine Jones, Democratic Secretary of State candidate Terry Goddard, political consultants David Leibowitz, Barrett Marson and Max Fose, and reporters Joe Ferguson of the Arizona Daily Star and Jeremy Duda of the Arizona Capitol Times.

You can watch the whole thing on YouTube or catch highlights on this week's episode of Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel, airing at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.

Valentine's Day is expensive enough as it is with dinner and drinks and flowers and presents and whatever else people are expected to splurge on to prove they love each other. That's why parents out there should take advantage of Mercado San Agustin's offer to watch your kids while you get dinner on site on Friday, Feb. 13.

True, it is a day before the real deal, but since it's only $5 to let your elementary-aged kid loose at the Kid's Valentine's Dance Party, it might be worth it to save a chunk of cash on that babysitter and celebrate your love a night early. I mean, really, what's the difference?

The event promises three hours of kiddy pop jams played by DJs from 6 until 9 p.m. with snacks and supervision for the little ones. That means parents are then free to grab dinner at Seis, Agustin Kitchen or Blu while the kids dance and romp around under the disco ball. Parents do have to stay on site during the event, but can peruse the Mercado at their leisure almost entirely kid-free for a couple hours.

UPDATE: University of Arizona Police Department has located and IDed the suspect thanks to tips and leads from the public.

No other information is currently available.
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The University of Arizona's UAlert text messaging alert system warned students at 4:00 p.m. about a robbery that occurred on campus.

A student was approached by a man who brandished a metal object and then fled from the scene.

The man was last seen heading eastbound from 1st Ave. and Highland.

He is described as a white or hispanic male, 5'10", thin build, and approximately later teens to early 20's. Last wearing a grey hoodie sweatshirt, blue jeans and has cut bottom lip and missing teeth.

Call 911 or contact UAPD at 520-621-8273 with any information.

Here's another route the state Legislature is trying to take to continue its attack on women rights: The Senate Health and Human Services Committee has passed a bill that would prohibit health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act to include elective abortion coverage. 



The Center for Arizona Policy, of course, celebrated the vote. The Christian conservative lobbying organization is a very potent force behind these types of bills. Last year, they pushed for SB 1062, which would have allowed businesses to deny service to LGBT people and others based on religious beliefs.



From the group:

SB 1318 includes two main components: protecting Arizonans from being forced to subsidize abortions through Arizona’s health care exchange and ensuring abortion clinics within Arizona are meeting the necessary licensing requirements under Arizona law.

The bill passed with a proposed amendment that would protect the identity of physicians who perform abortions, which I'm going to take a wild guess and say that won't happen.



This is what the Center for Arizona Policy had to say:

Americans agree that abortions should not be paid for with tax dollars. Polls consistently show strong majorities of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion.



Seventeen other states have the same law as SB 1318. The bill merely clarifies Arizona’s 2010 law, which is similar to many other states that don’t believe taxpayers’ dollars should be used to subsidize abortion.



Chemical and surgical abortions present serious risks to women. SB 1318 ensures that abortion clinics indeed have the admitting privileges at Arizona hospitals required by state law in the event of an emergency.



A woman’s legal right to choose an abortion does not demand that taxpayers subsidize or pay for an abortion. Courts generally have ruled that states are not required to provide public funding for elective abortions, and the Affordable Care Act allows for states to opt out of providing coverage on their health care exchange.

Earlier today we heard that Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas had fired Arizona Board of Education Executive Director Christine Thompson and Assistant Director Sabrina Vazquez. Gov. Doug Ducey then said Douglas had no legal right to do this, and overturned the layoffs. 

To what Douglas replied: 

“Governor Ducey apparently views himself as both Governor and Superintendent of Schools. For someone who has spent so much time discussing the plain meaning of ‘or vs. and’ as a justification to deprive schools of hundreds of millions of dollars to give to his corporate cronies as tax cuts, I wish he would use the same precision in looking at the plain language of the law with regard to the powers and duties of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Governor Ducey has refused to take calls or meetings with me personally since his swearing in. Clearly he has established a shadow faction of charter school operators and former state Superintendents who support Common Core and moving funds from traditional public schools to charter schools. It is no surprise that his office supports retaining two liberal staff who have publicly stated they will block all efforts to repeal or change Common Core and backs the newly elected President of the Board of Education who is a charter school operator and stands to profit from the Governor’s policy of pushing through AzMerit to lower school scores so that more students can be removed to charter schools.

I swore to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the State of Arizona with my hand upon the Bible. I take that oath very seriously and will continue to do so. I also promised the voters of the state to replace Common Core and will not falter in my best efforts to keep my promise, regardless of whether the Governor honors his campaign rhetoric to do the same. If the Governor thinks I have to justify hiring or firing at will employees who can be terminated without cause and without rights of appeal, then it brings into question the dozens of agency heads and gubernatorial employees who have been removed and replaced for clearly political reasons. Does the Governor also believe he controls all other elected officials created by the state Constitution? If so, the next ballot should only have one office to vote upon."

There's more:

"I wish the Governor would focus on his own duty to fill vacant positions on the Board of Education. We have encouraged him to appoint real ‘lay persons’ and to bring back African-American representation to the Board. Unfortunately, he is remiss to address his own education responsibilities. Despite publicly stating that education is the number one issue in the state. If he would spend time selecting Board members it would also reveal whether he is actually for or against Common Core. Perhaps that is the cause for his reticence."

ARS 15-251, which dictates the powers and duties of a superintendent, says:

1. Superintend the schools of this state.
2. Request the auditor general to investigate when necessary the accounts of school monies kept by any state, county or district officer.
3. Subject to supervision by the state board of education, apportion to the several counties the monies to which each county is entitled for the year. Apportionment shall be made as provided in chapter 9 of this title.
4. Direct the work of all employees of the board who shall be employees of the department of education.
5. Execute, under the direction of the state board of education, the policies which have been decided upon by the state board.
6. Direct the performance of executive, administrative or ministerial functions by the department of education or divisions or employees thereof.

President of the board, Greg Miller, also objected to the firings, saying the two employees worked for the board not Douglas. The state Constitution gives Ducey power to appoint board members, but Douglas argues the governor's say in firing employees of the board is also vague.

Although the advent of modern technology means new bands have more opportunities than ever to record their music on the cheap, Abril Castillo and Tucson People Magazine are looking to help local musicians record their music professionally while promoting the state's music for the world. 

The T-Town Sessions is a partnership between locally-made Cloud Microphones, St. Cecilia Studios and the newly-developed Tucson People Magazine. Every three months four musicians will be given the chance to use professional recording equipment to make audio and video recordings that will be published on the Tucson People Magazine website as well as their Soundcloud page. Castillo, who will be the videographer for the project, says it will be something like NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series but for Arizona specifically.

"The idea is to expose and show everyone around the world what Tucson is doing," Castillo says. "We want to have a documentary about what is happening in the music scene in Tucson and in Arizona."

The first round of T-Town Sessions will be recorded at St. Cecilia Studios on Feb. 24 and 25. This session's line-up includes Tucson bands The Mission Creeps, Steff and The Articles and the Gabriel Ayala quintet as well as Prescott's Dutch Holly.

"The first session has punk and pop and flamenco and indie rock, but I hope to include hip hop and more in the future," Castillo says. "I don’t want to discriminate or exclude anyone—I want to touch on everything."


The T-Town Sessions are just one part of what Castillo and the magazine will be doing. She says to expect new videos every week showcasing the projects and voices of the Old Pueblo. She also hopes that the sessions will soon be filmed at live events at venues around town like La Cocina and Club Congress.

If you're a local musician looking to participate in the next T-Town Sessions, e-mail your demos to [email protected].

When TUSD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez met up with Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas to discuss the notice of noncompliance the district received in January, Douglas invited Sanchez to be a member of her Latino Education Advisory Committee—their job would be to infuse the state's schools' content with studies on the contributions Latinos have made in Arizona and the country. 

Today, Douglas announced the other people she invited to that committee:

Ben Barcon, President of the ADM Group
Dr. H.T. Sanchez, Superintendent, Tucson Unified School District
Dr. Jose Leyba, retired K-12 and Community College Administrator, education consultant
Dr. Lupita Hightower, Superintendent, Tolleson Elementary School District (served on previous Advisory Council)
Dr. David Camacho, Professor of History and Special Assistant to the President, Northern Arizona University
Dr. Albert Siqueiros, retired Superintendent, Baboquivari Unified School District, (Sells, Ariz.), former Yuma Unified School District teacher
Dr. Lorraine Morales, President, Pima Community College Community Campus
Lourdes Jeong, parent, Nogales Unified School District, Program Director, Santa Cruz County School Superintendent’s Office
Dr. Manny Valenzuela, Superintendent, Sahuarita Unified School District
Dr. Evie Pletenik, Director, English Language Acquisition Programs, former administrator and teacher, Phoenix Union High School District
Norma Munoz, Roosevelt School District Governing Board President
Christofer Pereyra, Hispanic Ministry Director, Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix
Dr. Maria Harper Marinick, Provost/Executive Vice Chancellor, Maricopa Community Colleges
Victor Contreras, Realtor, Board Member Arizona Ivy League Project
Eva Nunez, Pastor, New Life Covenant Church

Also invited to participate in the committe are Dr. Ed Venezuela, Tommy Chacon, Dr. Manual Madrid and Lucero Bebe, a press release from Arizona Department of Education  says. 

"Douglas supports inclusion of all ethnic groups in the design of standards, curriculum and instruction for all Arizona students," the release says.

We've heard her say that in the past, when it was discussed what exactly was it that the state had found TUSD's culturally relevant curriculum to be in violation of the state's anti-Mexican American studies law; was it the content or what? Douglas said she supported the content, but that the teachers highlighted in the notice of noncompliance—gentlemanly sent to TUSD by former schools chief John Huppenthal on his last day in office—were not teaching it right, or, really, were not using methods Douglas supports.

“Arizona students should have instruction that includes the rich diversity of all ethnic groups and creates an appreciation for their fellow students,” Douglas says in a statement. “I am confident this respected group of community leaders will provide outstanding advice that I intend to implement. We must restore trust in all students and communities and that begins by listening, and then by acting upon recommendations.”

Douglas is also creating an African American committee, Native American committee, and working, alongside former state Sen. Leah Landrum Taylor, who is now the director of special projects for the superintendent, to include other groups (she even mentions migrant children and homeless youth) in history, civics, music, literature and other coursework statewide. 

“Homelessness, poverty, ethnic relations and helping children put behind racism in this generation are no longer going to simply receive lip service,” Douglas says.

All committee meetings will be open to the public for input and Douglas says they will try to have hold these across the state. The chairman of the committee will be announced once the list of committee members is finalized.

That would have made for a headline-grabbing slogan if TUSD Board member Michael Hicks used it during the 2014 campaign. "If elected, I promise to cut $64 million from the TUSD budget." I'm guessing he knew it would have hurt his election chances, which is probably why he saved it for later.

SB1371, discussed by the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday, would phase out school district desegregation funding from a number of districts in Arizona including TUSD. Superintendent H.T. Sanchez spoke at the hearing, stating that TUSD needs the funding to comply with the court-ordered deseg plan, and Debbie Lesko, the bill's sponsor, may add an amendment that exempts the district so long as it is under court order.

Meanwhile, Hicks sent a statement to the committee supporting the bill regardless of whether it is amended.

"I urge the Finance Committee to consider passing Senate Bill 1371 based on what the plaintiff representatives' belief that it is the money that caused TUSD to not actively secure Unitary Status. Michael Hicks TUSD Board Member."

Usually, written comments aren't read during committee meetings, but according to Senator Steve Farley, who sits on the committee, "Chair Lesko, in a highly unusual move, read [Hicks'] written comments from the RTS [Request to Speak] system anyway, not once, but twice, because they backed her position and undercut TUSD's credibility for those who did not know him."

In a Facebook post, Farley wrote, 

"This move on Hicks' part amounts to a direct attack on his own superintendent, 49,000 TUSD students, 3,000 teachers, and our entire community and economy. It amounts to dereliction of duty. He must be held accountable for his destructive actions."

Farley hopes to speak out about Hicks' action during the Call to the Audience at a TUSD Board meeting if his legislative schedule allows it. Of course, anyone who objects to Hicks' position can speak out during the Call to the Audience.