I wasn't super pumped to have my browser window land on the Playboy page this morning, especially after widespread accusations from former live-in bunnies the ol' Hef treats his myriad of girlfriends like pets (or worse). However, like a newly married man who just can't quit the boob magazine, my defense is that I'm just reading it for the articles.

One article, specifically, gave a little bit of love to Tucson's very own distillery, Hamilton Distillers. The list of each of the 50 states' top distillers called out the locally-made mesquite-smoked to represent the Grand Canyon state:

Whiskey Del Bac Dorado
After years of building furniture out of native mesquite wood, Stephen Paul became obsessed with creating a single malt whisky using barley smoked with mesquite instead of Scotch’s traditional peat. So he taught himself distilling, bought a still and some local barley, and created Whiskey Del Bac. The Dorado version tempers the campfire-smoke flavor with a bit of barrel aging.

You can buy a bottle of your own at the distillery (2106 N. Forbes Blvd., Suite #103) or over at Plaza Liquors (2642 N. Campbell Ave.).

With the Obamacare decision out today, the Supreme Court has just handful of decision left to release.

One of them is Arizona Legislature v. AIRC, which will decide if Arizona voters are allowed to give an independent panel the power to draw congressional district boundaries or whether state lawmakers have that exclusive power.

While awaiting the decision, Mitch Martinson of Arizona's Politics has run the numbers on how much has been spent in the legal battle over the Independent Redistricting Commission:

To come up with our revised post-redistricting, partisan litigation number of $3.65M+, we removed the $1.2M in "General" legal fees, the $578K incurred in fighting then-Attorney General Tom Horne's challenge of the AIRC's open meetings, and the $182K expended to fight then-Governor Jan Brewer's action for removal. We then added the $360K paid by the Arizona Legislature to local law firm Davis Miles and U.S. Supreme Court expert Paul Clement, as part of the case that Arizona (and several other states) are anxiously awaiting a decision from the Justices (within the next couple of weeks).

There are presently three live cases against the AIRC, all from either Republican lawmakers, or Republican-philic interests. Surprisingly, the AIRC has spent THE LEAST in outside legal expenses on the Arizona Legislature v. AIRC case about to be decided by the Supreme Court.

This is partly because it is a Constitutional challenge that did not require much time-intensive (costly) discovery, and partly because the U.S. Supreme Court expert Seth Waxman surprisingly agreed to represent the Redistricting Commission pro bono. That saved Arizona taxpayers somewhere between $300-500,000.***

In what is no doubt a great disappointment to those who want to expand the number of uninsured Americans, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected arguments that a minor drafting error should result in the Affordable Care Act's subsidies for middle-class Americans being eliminated (and, by extension, a collapse of the law itself).

Arizona Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick (D-CD1) reacts:

I’m pleased that the Supreme Court ruled to protect affordable health coverage for thousands of Arizona families and millions of Americans. In the words of Chief Justice John Roberts, ‘Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them.’ I’ve always said we should work together to fix and improve the ACA, and I will continue to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do just that.

Congresswoman Martha McSally (R-CD2) calls for a "better solution" to healthcare needs:

Families around Arizona continue to struggle under rising health care costs due to the Affordable Care Act. Business owners are being buried under mounds of paperwork and new mandates. Employees have seen their hours and wages cut while still lacking the affordable, quality care they need. While today’s ruling keeps intact subsidies under the law, the fact remains that the Affordable Care Act is fundamentally broken and hurting families across our country.”

We need a better solution that lowers the overall cost of health care and empowers patients and families to choose the plans that are right for them. We need reforms that focus on health outcomes driven by choice, transparency, and flexibility, not the mandates, penalties, and taxes contained in the Affordable Care Act. These patient-centered reforms will actually lower the cost of health care, ensuring it is affordable and available, while making sure those who cannot afford care have the opportunity and resources to get covered.”

Southern Arizonans deserve a better answer to our broken health care system, one that will put them first, and I’ll continue to work with my colleagues to give that to them.

Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-CD3) celebrates the decision:

I've been following the Charleston massacre and its aftermath on TV and in the print media, and I've been amazed at the capitulation by Republicans on the Confederate Flag issue. They've generally tried their damnedest to steer clear of making negative comments about the Civil War era flag. When they were forced to discuss the topic in front of a general audience, they stuck to the party line, saying it's a symbol of the valiant struggle of their ancestors and a symbol of regional pride that has nothing to do with slavery or racism. Now all of a sudden, these same politicians, normally so careful about protecting their right flank, are saying, "Take the flag down from public buildings and off of license plates. It's a divisive symbol of racism and hate."

Why have they given in? No question, they would have preferred to maintain the status quo. Sending dog whistles to racists has been part of the Republican Southern Strategy since the passage of Civil Rights legislation. Why was this event so powerful that it made the walls of resistance come tumbling down so quickly and dramatically? To try and answer that question for myself, I posed a few hypotheticals.

What if Dylann Roof, a raging racist who wrapped himself in the Confederate Flag, had attacked an NAACP gathering at a meeting hall down the street from Emanuel AME Church and killed nine people — upstanding black Charleston citizens similar to those killed in the church? Here's what we would have heard from conservative media. "There's no excuse for what Dylann Roof did, but you can understand some of his anger, given the track record of the NAACP over the years." Then they'd be off to the races, trotting out video of statements made by NAACP leaders at rallies and chewing over some of the positions the organization has taken over the years. That's the classic strategy when faced with difficult truths. Divert and confuse. Soon Roof would be pushed to the background, and the NAACP would be front and center. "Is the NAACP a radical hate group, maybe even a racist organization?" And Republican leaders would breathe a sigh of relief. Dodged another bullet. Another political crisis averted.

Last year there was a lot of buzz surrounding the new Phoenix-area Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. A piece in Esquire and a best new brewery recognition from the online community of beer geeks over at RateBeer.com proved the Kickstarter-funded brewery was churning out some of the tastiest and most inventive brews in the world. 

With a focus on using local grain and more, the brewery continues to put out unique brews with new, limited quantity offerings coming out of the fermenter all of the time. The quantities are so limited, in fact, that you can't really get their beer outside of their restaurant and taproom location in Gilbert for much longer than a week or two, unless, of course, it's a special tasting event. That's why when the brewing team hits up Tap & Bottle (403 N. Sixth Ave. Ste. 135) on Thursday, June 25, you'll want to make sure you get there in time to sample each beer they're bringing to town.

Here's what you can expect:

• Refuge IPA (6.8%) - West Coast IPA brewed with Centennial, Simcoe, Cascade, and Columbus hops. 
  
• Petting Feral Cats (3.7%) - This collaboration with Sun King Brewing Company has a light sweet note from Indiana hickory syrup and pleasant pine aromatics with Sun King's propietary saison yeast.
  
• Santa Teresa (5.2%) - Our Belgian Single or Enkel brewed in a true Monastic Styl. with Westmalle yeast. 

As well as a yet-to-be-released Chocolate Bunny Imperial Milk Porter, which is a collaboration with Stillwater Artisanal Ales of Baltimore. 

Now, there's two reasons you'll want to head to the event early, which kicks off at 5 p.m. First, once those four kegs are tapped, they're gone, and it'd be a shame to miss them. However, T&B owner Rebecca Safford says an extra incentive for the first 15 people to arrive and pet the beard of either Jonathan Buford, Patrick Ware or Brett Dettler (a.k.a. the trio behind Arizona Wilderness) will get a free "Petting Feral Cats" Wilderness shirt.

If you're not in the petting mood, though, just head to the bar and get yourself a tasty brew. No pressure.

Department of Homeland Secretary Jeh Johnson said today there needs to be "substantial changes" to DHS' detention practices when it comes to immigrant families and children. Among his proposals was releasing detained families who post bond or meet other conditions of release, and can establish a solid case of fear of persecution in their home countries. He also hints improving these people's access to legal counsel, and he says priority should be given to families who have been detained for longer than 90 days.

"Today's announcement is a step in the right direction, but it does not go far enough. The U.S. government should not be locking up children and families in immigration jails, period. For an entire year, the government has violated the basic rights of mothers and children to apply for asylum, by locking them up without cause and at great expense, by prejudging their cases without fairly applying the law to individual circumstances, and by putting up barriers to legal counsel, when the stakes are life or death," said a statement from Cecillia Wang, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Rights Project.

"It has taken a year of lawsuits and sustained public pressure from human rights groups and Congress to get the Department of Homeland Security to act on these problems, and the ACLU will continue to hold DHS accountable," she added.

Last summer, there was an alarming spike in the number of undocumented immigrants coming from Central America. Many of them are fleeing the drug and gang violence in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras We saw tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors, mothers and families with young children, apprehended mostly along the Mexico border with Texas, and transferred to various states, including Arizona, for processing, because the detention facilities in Texas were flooded. They were temporarily placed in detention facilities or shelters, while they reunited with other family members in the U.S., and waited for their court hearings.

There have been less apprehensions on U.S. soil this year, but that does not mean less people are fleeing the region. (In his statement, Johnson says if the current trend this fiscal year continue, he annual number of apprehensions at the border will be the lowest since the '70s.)

Well, Abril Castillo, St. Cecilia Studios and Cloud Microphones are at it again. The folks that make up the T-Town Sessions team just released the first in a new series of locally-made live music videos. Since the videos are recorded downtown in a professional studio by professional videographers, you can expect another crop of visually and aurally beautiful videos showcasing the town's top talent. 

First up in this round of videos is Tucson-by-way-of-France singer-songwriter Naim Amor. While Amor is typically known for his romantic, delicate chanson, the video for "Woman" shows a hard-rocking, jammy side of Amor, embellished by a full band, that showcases just what this local musician is capable of. Prepare to have the video looping on YouTube all day.


Next up in this series of four will be Pork Torta, Aztral Folk and Copper & Congress. You can also catch Amor tonight live on The Coronet patio (402 E. Ninth St.) for free, with half-off bottles of wine. 

On Friday, we released the second round* of Best of Tucson® voting. We've already had a ton of ballots submitted and pretty much** all of them (93 percent!) include a vote for "Best Place to Take Friends Visiting Town." 

And the nominees are...

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum


Sabino Canyon 


Mount Lemmon


Gates Pass 


Unscrewed Theater 

Twelve-year-old Jose Escobar Perez spoke at the City Council meeting this evening on behalf of his father, Roman Escobar, who was apprehended by immigration officials in the beginning of June, after Tucson Police officers allegedly called Border Patrol during a minor traffic stop.

"I wasn't there, but my mom came home crying and I was worried what happened to her and I asked her what happened," he told the City Council members. "I don't know why he got pulled over, he is the only one that helps us survive, and... I just want to say that I really want my dad back."

See, TPD isn't supposed to do that anymore, according to recent policy changes on how it deals with certain undocumented individuals.

In February, the department adjusted how it's been enforcing SB 1070, Arizona's so-called "show me your papers" law. The revised language of TPD's General Orders recognizes that mere "unauthorized presence is not a crime," and that immigration enforcement should not trickle down to local law enforcement agencies, rather it should be the federal government's job to deal with it.

In December, TPD Chief Roberto Villaseñor announced the police would not get involved with immigration agencies unless those suspected undocumented individuals have felonies on their records, are affiliated with a gang, are identified as terrorists, or pose a threat to national security. The changes better matched the Department of Homeland Security's criteria, and President Barack Obama's 2014 immigration actions, which also reinforced that the government should focus on deporting criminals. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement is very up-and-down with its apprehension and deportation rules, too.)

Gus Garcia-Roberts of Talking Points Memo profiles Republicans who support at least parts of Obama, including state Sen. Steve Pierce:

A Republican lifer in Wranglers and cowboy boots, Pierce is his party’s old school ideal: a self-sufficient small-business owner living off the land, growing steaks for people who can afford them. He’s also a prominent Arizona state senator, formerly president of the senate and majority whip.

So it’s somewhat surprising that he has invited me to his home district in order to sell me on the benefits of Obamacare.

Here in Yavapai County, most everybody you’ll meet is Republican. In 2012, Mitt Romney received nearly two votes here to each of Obama’s. And yet in this rural red county in a very red state, it’s only taken a couple of years for federally-subsidized health care to quietly seep into the hinges of everyday life and governance. The rate of sign-ups for the program in the county has nearly doubled from 2014, when 22 percent of the area’s potential market share chose a plan through the federal exchange, to March 2015, when 43 percent did, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The latter figure ranks the county sixth among 54 areas in the state in percentage of the potential market share which has signed up, outranking far more liberal areas in Arizona.

This is what Obamacare Country looks like.