For Ryan Clark, chef at Agustin Kitchen, being a board member at Slow Food Southern Arizona gives him the opportunity to give back to a community he both believes in and is a part of. His annual F & B Tasting event works as a way for him to bring all of the factions of that community together for a single day of dining and imbibing locally.

This year, like the year before, he will use his restaurant and the Mercado San Agustin courtyard outdoors as the event's setting when it returns on Sunday, June 7. 

From 5:30 until 7:30 p.m., attendees can sample bites from Blu A Wine & Cheese Stop, Proper, Prep and Pastry, Agustin Kitchen, Acacia Real Food & Cocktails, Zona 78, Seis Kitchen & Catering and Caridad Community Kitchen. The focus is to use fresh, local and seasonal ingredients, which is what really makes the event exciting to Clark each year, even though the vendor list is largely the same.

ZonaPol4-16-15final from Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel on Vimeo.

This week on Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik talks about the Broadway widening project, potholes, homelessness in Tucson and a lot more, while Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias discusses the county's upcoming bond project, whether county employees who smoke should pay more for health insurance, the impacts of the state budget and other issues. Watch online above or tune in at 9:30 a.m. Sunday on KGUN-9.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals finally heard the U.S. Department of Justice's emergency appeal to the temporary block of President Obama's November 2014 immigration actions.

In February a federal judge stalled applications for the extended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, as well as deferred action for parents of U.S. citizens and legal residents (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said people could start filing paperwork for this one some time in May), while a lawsuit against both executive actions on behalf of 26 states, including Arizona, is resolved. 

Public Access TV can be glorious, or it can be horrible, or it can be somewhere in-between, but it's always the efforts of your neighbors creating their own vision on a low budget and big dreams. A retrospective of one of the better efforts to create a show, 20 Years of Madness, will be showing this weekend at downtown's Screening Room as part of the Arizona International Film Festival. And it will benefit Access Tucson, our own public access station that has been on the ropes as city officials have steadily cut its funding and threatened to sell its downtown headquarters in recent years.

Here's the film's description. There's a warning that you'll see nudity and hear bad words:

20 Years of Madness is a feature-length documentary following Jerry White Jr., founder of the Public Access TV Show 30 MINUTES OF MADNESS, as he leaves Los Angeles and returns to Metro Detroit to make a new episode on its 20-year anniversary. Jerry reconnects with the friends he grew up with as they discover whether the magic of their show was a fleeting youthful experiment or a creative community they will share for the rest of their lives.

The film shows at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 18. More details on it and the rest of the Arizona International Film Festival here.

It's been just three years, but Dragoon Brewing Co. quickly solidified its spot in the hearts of beer enthusiasts as a favorite for creative brews in Tucson. Whether you're the type who gets the Dragoon IPA every time or you like to venture out and try new things, you should head to the brewery, located at 1859 W. Grant Road Suite 111, on Saturday for their third anniversary celebration.

Chelsea Blue of Dragoon said the event caps off the brewery's growth.

"We are so, so thrilled to be celebrating our third anniversary," Blue said. "With our new expansion, we're really feeling the growth Dragoon has had over the last three years and can't wait for the coming years ahead of us."

For the event, Ricuras de Venezuela, Black Top Grill, Lucky Girl and Zany Beaver will serve a variety of eats for imbibing party goers. The brewery will also be releasing the fourth iteration of their Russian Imperial stout—aptly named The Quatro. Compared to the last three, Blue said The Quatro has a bit of a drier finish with the "same bold, black, deliciousness as all the others."

We've got two pairs of VIP wristbands for Monday night's pig roast at CLUB XS, hosted by medical marijuana dispensary Desert Bloom. Now, the wristbands offer Medicated VIP access, but only if you've got an MMJ card. You can enter if you don't have a card, but you'll only get non-medicated VIP access.

I'm sure you've heard all about the event, but just in case:

A Pig Roast Celebration

The big 420 in the Old Pueblo is medical marijuana dispensary Desert Bloom Re-Leaf Center, 5851 E. Speedway Blvd., with its first annual 4/20 Pig Roast brought to you by Brush Fire BBQ from noon to 2 a.m. There will be a medicated area for all medical marijuana patient card holder, and besides the pig there will be other food trucks and a full bar.

Anyone interested in starting the application process for MMJ are welcome, there will be certification help available for all new patients and renewals. Live music and entertainments and speakers will be there, and some cannabis swag.

Others involves in the roast include AZ4NORML, Firebrand World Class Infusions, Ultra Health Green Valley, Tumblewoods Health Center, Holi Smokes, Weed Depot and yep, us, the Tucson Weekly. Keep in mind the area for medicating is only open to ticket-holders with valid MMJ cards. Tickets are $24 for Super Medicated VIP, $17.10 for Medicated VIP, $14.20 for non-medicated VIP and $7.10 for non-medicated regular Joe.

Desert Bloom's Aari Ruden told us that MMJ users are often still stigmatized and the goal of the pig roat is to change that. Plus "have a peaceful event with lots of cannabis there. For people to socialize with other like-minded people openly."

For more info on the roast, go to its Facebook event page or visit dbloomtucson.com.

Enter below or over on Wufoo. We'll be drawing names at 3:30 this afternoon and I'll be in touch shortly after that.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas is launching a statewide tour that will make a pit stop in Tucson at the end of May to listen to your concerns on all-things K-12 education.

There will be a series of public meetings throughout the so-called "We Are Listening" tour to pair up with recommendations from the Arizona Department of Education on things like how to improve a school's curriculum, or the Common Core standards. 

“I am dedicated to continually improving the state of education in Arizona through conversations with the people it most directly affects—parents, students, teachers and administrators,” a statement from Douglas said. “It is paramount that Arizona not only has the highest standards possible, but that its standards belong to Arizona and are continually improved to best represent both student and local community needs. This process allows us to hear every voice and set high expectations for every child.”

Arizona is going to be on the spotlight this Sunday on CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta's Weed 3: The Marijuana Revolution.
Gupta followed Sue Sisley—who was ousted from the University of Arizona last summer (she says because of political pressure over the "controversy" of her marijuana research)—to discuss her study on medical marijuana as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Also, veteran and medical pot patient Sean Kiernan, who is the founder of Veterans for Doctor Sue Sisley MD & PTSD Research, and his struggle with PTSD and other conditions will be featured. He has been at the forefront of helping Sisley find a home for her study (UA and NAU flat out refused to help and ASU never got back to her, so Sisley is working on moving forward on her own, along with the help of her supporters, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies).

Seriously so many.

The Pima County Fair opens today and we're giving away tickets in pairs and in fours. We'll be drawing names a little bit randomly—a couple of times a day until the fair is over. If you win but are no longer interested in attending, let us know and we'll give those tickets to someone else!

You have the pick the passes up at our office, located near the Foothills Mall. They're good any day.  

So, for a ferris wheelin', brisket baked potato eatin', Pima County day of fun, you can enter by filling out the form below or, if the embed code isn't workin' for you, over on Wufoo.

Also, have you looked at the entertainment schedule? Because Baby Bash will be performing this Sunday. Did you know he was still a thing? Because, man, I haven't thought about Baby Bash since MAYBE 2004? I have, however, watched the Suga Suga music video four times since I saw his name on the flier half an hour ago.


There ain't nothing you can say to a playa/Cause doowop, she fly like the planes in the air/That’s right she’s full grown setting the wrong tone/I'm digging the energy and I'm loving the o-zone

Three years ago, Eva Sierra didn't know what a poetry slam looked or sounded like. 

During a school field trip to Tucson, the Douglas teen got to check out a gathering by the Tucson Youth Poetry Slam. She was hooked. The spoken word and all therapeutic emotions that derive from having a room full of attentive ears listening to your thoughts penetrated her soul and never left. She's been non-stop slamming since October 2012.

Sierra's slam at last year's championship (you can check out more TYPS on their YouTube):


Sierra became such a regular presence with the group—even though she resides about three hours away—they even invited her to become a member of the staff.