Editor's note: Viewer discretion advised. If you don't want to see a guy pointing a gun at himself and being hit by a car, don't watch this video.

Marana Police Department made national news yesterday when they released dash cam footage from a February incident in which an officer rammed an armed suspect with his patrol car.

Mario M. Valencia, armed with a rifle he had just stolen from the Walmart on Cortaro Road, was walking down Coca Cola Drive on of Feb. 19 when Officer Michael Rapiejko stuck him with a patrol car. In the video, Valencia can be seen firing a round into the air.

Rapiejko accelerated his patrol car and struck Valencia near the entrance of Continental Ranch Self Storage, sending Valencia flying into the air and knocking the rifle several out of his grasp. Valencia suffered serious but nonlife-threatening injuries. He was released from the hospital two days after the incident. Valencia is now in Pima County Jail on counts of robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, arson and theft related to a string of crimes in midtown Tucson.

No officers were harmed, and the Pima County Attorney’s Office declined to charge Rapiejko over his use of force. Marana Police Chief Terry Rozema said Rapiejko’s actions saved lives, including Valencia’s.

What do you think: Was this a case of excessive force or a necessary move?

In the wake of Ron Barber's announcement that he would not be seeking another run for Congress in Southern Arizona's CD2, Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik has announced that he will not be challenging Republican Congresswoman Martha McSally next year:

I and members of my staff are frequently asked about my intentions with regard to running for higher office. With the weekend announcement by Congressman Ron Barber that he will not be seeking to regain the CD2 Congressional seat, it became a priority of mine to make clear my own intentions with respect to whether or not I would be announcing as a candidate for that office.

Since my election to the Tucson City Council in 2009, we have made significant progress in the economic development of the downtown core. The continuation of that momentum is one of the keys to our economic health as a region. Since that time, my staff and I have also established strong working relationships with both business and neighborhood constituents throughout the community. The progress we have made takes time to nurture and develop. Now is not the time to step away from what we have achieved.

I am committed to finishing out the full four-year term to which I was elected in 2013. Further, I am fully committed to finishing out my professional career working for President Ann Weaver Hart and Athletics Director Greg Byrne at the University of Arizona. In each of those areas, the fruit of my efforts, in concert with the collaboration of my co-workers, is paying dividends to the broader community. I’m grateful to have the opportunity in both cases.

Apparently, I am in a Hillary Clinton kind of mood today. But it's not all good.

After it was made official that Clinton is running for president, someone on Facebook reminded me of the insensitive comments she made last year on unaccompanied minors from Central America.

I just have a general issue with the one-dimensional "solution," if you can call it that, of "just send them all back," as Clinton said in a June 2014 interview with CNN.

I'll start with this: It's confusing that in many things, like establishing Walmart, Starbucks, the United Fruit Company and other corporations in Guatemala—and funding the overthrow of past presidents (such as Jacobo Árbenz, one of the best presidents my country has ever had, who was ousted in 1954 because he wanted nothing to do with the United Fruit Company)—some U.S. politicians don't have a problem with interfering in Central American business.

But when it comes to interfering in the form of offering positive, valuable, long-term solutions to disturbing issues (such as tens of thousands of children fleeing from the region), a lot of U.S. leaders don't want anything to do with Central America, aside from the old chant of "send them back."

It's a bipartisan collaboration!

The Huffington Post posted a recap of that interview. Her response on the influx of Central American minors wasn't surprising. The Obama administration has also failed to provide any thoughtful, human solution. The "let's send them back and by some miraculous event they will understand to never come back to the United States" is not how things work.

For as long as there continues to be gang violence and poverty corroding Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras (where most of these kids come from), there is going to be an influx of people escaping and heading North—that plus the fake tales that they will get some sort of asylum once on U.S. soil; it's all a very shitty recipe for an even shittier outcome. A lot of them see coming here as their one and only option, and overlook any type of explanation that tells them A. it is a dangerous and expensive trek and B. things here aren't easy for immigrants south of the border anymore.

Here's a section of the Clinton write up:

Mayor Jonathan Rothschild formally announced his plans to run for reelection last week.

Rothschild, who is finishing up his first four-year term, told Democrats and others gathered on the patio at downtown’s Connect co-working space that he was focused on “moving Tucson forward”—a slogan he tried to get the assembled crowd to chant with limited success.

“What this campaign is going to be about is people who want to come together, who have come together, who want to work for the positive for Tucson, as opposed to those who just want to continue to complain and continue to throw arrows,” Rothschild said.

He cited the city’s work to repave roads using bond dollars, a water deal with Phoenix, an initiative to end veteran homelessness and the ongoing downtown renaissance as accomplishments in his first term.
“Today, Tucson’s downtown is looking better than it has since I was a kid,” Rothschild said, “and yes, that was a long while ago.”

So far, the only person who has registered with the City Clerk’s Office to run against Rothschild is a filmmaker, Chuck Williams, a Democrat who has never sought public office in Tucson before. We haven’t had a chance to interview Williams just yet, but he did send over a DVD of a film he co-produced, Eddie Presley, the story of a “down-on-his-luck ex-Elvis impersonator. We haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, but “Film Threat” called it “a tribute to every rock band in L.A. who truly believes they’ll be the next Guns ’n Roses and every porn actress who knows she can out-act Julia Roberts.”

The rumored GOP mayoral candidate was Zach Catsorus, but The Range hears that his campaign may have hit a snag. We hit him up on Facebook to find out what’s up, but he didn’t get back to us.

While a GOP mayoral candidate may remain elusive, we now have at least three Republican candidates for this year's City Council election.

If you're a giant Giant Sand fan, you'll want to head to Zia Records at 3370 E. Speedway Blvd. for a live performance from the iconic Tucson band's frontman Howe Gelb. In celebration of two Giant Sand releases coming out on Record Store Day, Gelb will be performing solo at Zia starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 18.

While you're there, you can pick up a copy of the brand new “Heartbreak Pass” LP in advance of its national release. However, if you’re one of those fans who just “likes their old stuff better,” the 30-year anniversary re-issue of Giant Sand’s first album “Valley of Rain” is probably more your speed. Of course, you could always just treat yourself and get both. Gelb will be signing records at the event this Saturday as well. 

That isn't all Zia Records has planned for Record Store Day, though. Clay Dudash will be performing at the location at 3655 N. Oracle Road beginning at 3 p.m. and both locations will feature hundreds of special Record Store Day releases. 

Releases for this year's event include a range of artists and genres such as Built to Spill, Wu-Tang Clan, Slayer, Syd Barrett, Waylon Jennings, The Animals, Banks and Brand New. You can view a full list of special releases on the Record Store Day website.

Unique to Zia locations, though, is the release of a very limited pressing of a live in-store performance by Tegan and Sara recorded on September 10, 2013. Only 500 copies of the opaque purple vinyl will be sold exclusively at Zia locations so you'll want to get there early.

Both the Speedway and Oracle location open at 9 a.m. on Saturday. For more information on upcoming Zia Records offerings, performances and other events, visit the store's website. 

The City of Tucson announced this week that the preliminary phases of implementing a bike share program in town are under way. Although the above picture is actually an artist's depiction of what it would look like to get bike share bikes at major transit hubs such as the Mercado San Agustin Sun Link stop, the planning phases of the bike share project are real and have begun.

According to a statement from the city's transportation department (TDOT), an initial system planning document, which includes maps of both a station phasing plan and proposed station locations for the initial phases, is being released to show where potential riders can expect potential bike share locations. The locations were planned as a result of a months-long survey on the TDOT website. and technical analysis done as a part of the Public Bicycle Share Feasibility Study and Implementation Plan. TDOT's City Bike/Pedestrian Coordinator Ann Chanecka says over 300 suggested locations were submitted by the public in the survey.

Phases 1 and 2 of the program will include outposts along the streetcar link and in the "denser urban core of Tucson." Phase 3 will build upon those two phases, with six total phases suggesting spots along the Rillito River Path, and in south, east and southeast Tucson.


Although exact details on price and official release date are not yet available, a business plan for the project will be released this summer. Chanecka says if all of the funding goes through as planned, TDOT hopes to launch the program this year. The city is seeking for the program to include both single day access and annual membership options for riders at self-service kiosks, much like the Grid Bike Share program that launched in Phoenix in 2014.

Editor's Note: This piece has been updated to include new information.

Audiobooks, man. I couldn't get through long drives or slow days at work without them. 

I'm an Audible lady. For those unfamiliar with the service: Every month, in exchange for $15, I get a credit for one book of any price and I can purchase audiobooks to stream. It's not like Netflix—you do have to pay for every book you want to listen to. Audible offers a small discount on the books, but nothing too significant. I try to get by with paying for one new/long/expensive title with my monthly credit, and filling out the other weeks with cheaper books. But not this week! 

Through April 20, all titles are 50 percent off. 50 percent! They're calling it a "Spring Cleaning" sale for your wishlist, but I think you and I both know it's really just going to make digital bookshelves more congested.

Have fun, booknerds.

Hillary Clinton announced over the weekend that she is running for the presidency. She's the first Democrat in the race, and The New York Times said she'll likely be the 2016 Democratic candidate.

It was amusing to see GOP figures like candidates Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, flip out about Clinton's announcement. They immediately took it to Twitter/made videos shot way too close to their faces saying Clinton is a candidate of the past, etc., etc.

Cruz did the usual spiel on being conservative:


Fox News Political Analyst Brit Hume said he doesn't think Clinton will win because no one wants another four to eight years of the Clintons' "weird marriage" in the public eye. 


At this point, you should just watch Jon Stewart's response. He didn't discriminate, though. He also made fun of Clinton's campaign video:

University of Arizona adjunct and non-tenure faculty will be part of the Fight for $15 rally happening Wednesday.

The international movement demands that the country's minimum wage be raised to $15 an hour. The movement started out with fast-food workers asking for better pay, but this year, childcare workers and adjunct professors are among the people joining the struggle.

About 200 cities around the U.S. and in 35 countries will host similar events in solidarity. 

The one in Tucson begins at 11 a.m. There is more information below from an email I received:

ASSEMBLE at the intersection of Speedway and Campbell (we are hoping to occupy all four corners).

MARCH west on the North Side of Speedway approximately one block to the McDonalds on that side of the street.

RALLY with speakers, striking Fast Food Workers, and perhaps a song or two. Following this rally, we will PROCEED another block to the underpass under Speedway leading to the University of Arizona Campus.  

REASSEMBLE on the UofA Mall, we will then MARCH West along the Mall to Old Main where another RALLY will take place at 12 p.m.. We will be joining Non Tenured Staff from both the UofA and Pima Community Colleges who are the low wage workers who teach a majority of classes at our educational institutions with unlivable wages and no benefits.

We will have signs and Banners. But please feel free to bring your own. 

As I wrote in an article earlier this year, an average working graduate student (not all adjunct and non-tenure faculty members are graduate students by the way) makes about $16,000, which is below the estimated cost of attendance ($20,900, according to the UA Graduate Professional Student Council), as well as the living wage for Pima County ($17,400 as calculated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Reporter John Dougherty of InvestigativeMedia.com brings readers the latest twist in aftermath of 2013's deadly Yarnell Hill fire:

Brendan McDonough will testify if legally required about radio conversations between Granite Mountain Hotshots’ senior leaders in the moments immediately leading up to their deaths and 17 other members of the crew, his attorney says.

“Under certain circumstances, Brendan will tell his story to a court of law,” Prescott attorney Dave Shapiro says in an interview with InvestigativeMedia.com.

McDonough is the sole survivor of the 20-member Granite Mountain Hotshot crew that was killed on June 30, 2013 while fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire.
Investigators inspect the location where the Granite Mountain Hotshots were entrapped by flames three days earlier.

Investigators inspect the location where the Granite Mountain Hotshots were entrapped by flames three days earlier.

McDonough reportedly heard radio transmissions between Granite Mountain’s supervisor Eric Marsh and the crew’s captain, Jesse Steed. The men reportedly argued over whether to move the crew, with Steed eventually agreeing with Marsh’s request — or possibly order — to leave their safety zone on top of the Weaver Mountains.

Marsh reportedly wanted the crew to join him at the Boulder Springs Ranch in the valley to the east. The Hotshots were overrun by flames at the base of a box canyon about 600-yards west of the ranch. Marsh rejoined his crew moments before the rapidly approaching, 2,000-degree wild fire engulfed them.

Why the crew left its safety zone at the hottest time of the day during an extreme wild fire with an approaching thunderstorm and descended into a treacherous box canyon packed with unburned and highly volatile chaparral has been the major unanswered question looming over the tragedy.

Read the rest of the story here.