Cyndi Lauper, eighth wonder of the world, stopped by the Late Late Show earlier in the week to bless us with a new song about what Girls Just Wanna Have.


I'm in love.

This week I resigned from the Arizona Education Association, Retired Chapter. I have been a member of AEA since I began teaching in Arizona in 1980. The reason for this resignation was their support for the deceptively worded and band aid proposition 123. I’ve read it thoroughly and it changes the state’s responsibility for funding K-12 and secondary (college level) education. This proposition mitigates state funding by changing the state constitution to lower their disbursements from the general fund for education. This frees up money for tax breaks to large corporations (who funnel monies toward re-election campaigns to elected officials thru lobbying and anonymous organizations).

This proposition also rapidly depletes the state trust lands which were given to the state in 1912, upon entering statehood, by the federal government. This was to be used as a supplemental fund, to help with inflationary costs. It is currently sold at 2.3 percent of principal. Under proposition 123, it will be sold off at about 7 percent a year, diminishing the principal of the fund.

Even though proposition 123 funnels some money towards education, there is no guarantee that the state legislature will continue funding education adequately. When proposition 301 was passed, the tax monies generated for education were not used as a supplement for inflation. Instead, the state legislature subtracted that same amount of money from the education budget. This was a classic bait and switch ploy, with the result of schools, teachers, and students suffering. What needs to be done is for the state to pay the 330 million dollars that the court has ordered it to pay for the schools. This proposition is nothing more than a distraction! We need to elect pro public school representatives to the state legislature and fire those legislators who would destroy public education.

I would like to end with two quotations: The first is attributed to Abraham Lincoln, our first Republican President. “You can fool all the people some of the time, you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all of the time.”

The final quote is from St. Francis of Assisi. “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

Let’s vote no on Proposition 123 and elect pro education candidates to our state legislature!

Thank you,
Marty Drozdoff

Dear Tucson Weekly:

As a concerned parent/grandparent, public education advocate and TUSD board candidate, I am very worried that the YES campaign on Prop 123 will dominate the media landscape and push through a dangerous and divisive proposition. How, you may ask, can a public education advocate vote AGAINST school funding? My answer is that I do not believe that this is school funding. This is an end-run around having to comply (first) with Proposition 301 legislation that was the will of the voters and (more recently) with a court order demanding compliance with that legislation. Prop 123 is being pitched to us as education funding by a governor who calls himself the "education governor" while presiding over a state that has defunded, for all intents and purposes, universities, technical education and K-12 school districts.

My point of entry into the subject is my brand new granddaughter, Emma, who I hope will have a broad and diverse public education here in TUSD. However, she will not be entering the system for about 6 years, which means that in a very concrete way she will experience the outcome of Proposition 123—an outcome which could be quite horrendous (just ask anyone who lost a home in 2008 if ever-increasing investments is something we can place all of our faith in....) She will never be educated in a public school with more than 49 percent of the budget; if she is, a trigger is tripped and all bets are off. Sorry, little Emma, guess the dream and the state's constitutional responsibility to educate you were just a fantasy!, Meanwhile, my granddaughter’s uncle, my youngest son is a high schooler who will have the huge opportunity to move from number 50 to number 48 in the nation in terms of school funding should Prop 123 be passed. Yes, teachers may receive a raise, but possibly at the cost of future employment, if public education is privatized. (The funds are "undesignated" so it is not even a given that they will in fact be used for teacher raises) Many fear that this Proposition is a "first step" to privatization, and nothing else.

I would like to know, after twice being fooled, just how much trust should we place in either our legislature or our governor? Why twice fooled, you ask? The first time was when the taxpayers supported extra taxation to go to public schools, and the 2008 economic downturn forced a compromise and the legislature canceled payments and used the money for general fund needs. The second time was when we the public all lined up AGAIN to designate a permanent 1/2 cent tax increase to take care of school funding, (to resolve the dire situation that our schools were left in by the first foolishness) only to have the election stolen by this very governor and his dark money friends. So my question here is, who is to be trusted and why?

Arizona wines don’t get nearly the love they should. With new vintners popping up all the time, it’s pretty clear that vineyards can thrive in the Sonoran desert and elsewhere across the state. You can spend a whole week celebrating local wine over at Good Oak (316 E. Congress St.) when the bar presents Arizona Rosé Week.

With a little something to pique the interest of lovers of red and white, rosé exists as a happy middle ground, while being something completely on its own that happens to be perfect for warmer weather. Some, including Good Oak's Luke Anable, would peg them as " really good, fresh, quaffable wine."

Now, with six local wine makers such as Dos Cabezas, Rune and AZ Stronghold, you can navigate the world of rosé in the state through a unique, six-day event that spans from Monday, May 16 to Sunday, May 22. Arizona Rosé Week will also feature rosé flights ($14) and 20-percent off select bottles to go. 

Here's the week's line-up:

Your Best of Tucson ballot is due at the end of the day this Sunday.

We know, we know. Procrastination is easy. The survey is long. It can be tough to decide who deserves each award.

Celebrating the mom and pop shops that make Tucson is worth the effort.

Vote.

Want to go to the theater this weekend? We're giving away tickets to two events.

First up: The Music of the Blues Brothers Live at the Gaslight Music Hall (13005 N. Oracle Road)
We're giving away tickets to a 3 p.m. showing, though there is also a show at 7 p.m. 

Next: Rise of the Sheik at the Gaslight Theater (7010 E. Broadway Blvd.)
These tickets are good for any show through June 5. 

From TW's review of The Rise of the Sheik:

This is no hoity-toity off-Broadway angst fest where you view the stage through opera glasses with your pinky extended. It's more like a very well managed free-for-all, with original scripts that are usually take-offs on a movie or other familiar tale. Here you'll find the good guys and the bad guys duking it out, all with tongues planted firmly in cheeks. The audience boos and hisses and cheers and throws popcorn, which comes free on every table. There are so many corny jokes that the audience's groans almost drown out a three-piece live band. The band wins out, though, providing a dimension of entertainment that would otherwise leave the actors and their thin plotlines and silly jokes exposed. Instead, they work together to please crowds, alongside the kitchen's well loved pizza and more.

Enter to win a pair of tickets to either show! We'll be calling winners midday on Friday, May 13.

With one record already under his belt, Tucson rapper and artist Badio is ramping up to release his sophomore album in fall 2016. But, you'll want to check out his new video for the song "2nd Coming" before then.

Shot in the sand dunes of Yuma by Thierry Nzeukou through their collective Les Gars, which primarily focuses on fashion photography, the video serves as a cinematic bridge to Africa. Badio himself is originally from Liberia, but has lived in Tucson since 2009 after moving from Virginia. 

"It's about who I am, but the video was strategic," he says. "I wanted to mimic the migration of the first groups of blacks in the Sahara desert. We migrated as a means of necessity and spread around the Africa."

When asked what the message behind the video was, Badio sent over one of his art projects, an image with the words written over:

In essence of all that is black Second Coming depicts the "NOW" mental disparities of Africans as a result of cultural misappropriation, appropriation, displacement and institutionalized self-hate.

"I made the record as an attempt in bridging the gap between blacks in America and Africans in Africa," Badio adds. "I wanted to explain more so how our self hatred was created. So, for example, our people's displacement from their origins caused a somewhat, let's say, disconnect from their true history, so if you don't know your history you don't know who you are or what you're capable of."

"That should be a persons main source of motivation," he says. "Blacks don't know their history so they've succumbed to what society has told them or taught them to be."

Though it's going to be a few more months until WhatsbadioII is released, something tells me that, with powerful lyrics like,

My momma she nine to fivin' - till she 95, still broke as a record no time to pay me mind, distracted by Bills, damn - Cosby keep raping us how can I chill.

this album is going to be something to look out for. 

Until then, check this out:

Although the pop-up restaurant trend has firmly entrenched itself in the dining culture of other cities, the concept is still gaining traction here in Tucson with occasional events that offer a little something different than what you'd typically expect from local restaurants. One local up-and-coming chef is running with the idea, creating unique one-time events in various alternative venues. 

Pop-Up Tucson is run by 22-year-old chef Riley Chandler, who has trained under chef Janos Wilder and assists in Carriage House events. For the first event, Chandler hosted a five-course dinner in Ventana Canyon on May 1 alongside chef TJ Culp. Culp runs similar pop-up-style events in Phoenix.

On Saturday, May 14 at 10 a.m., Chandler will present his second event at a currently undisclosed location, which will be provided to attendees once they RSVP. For this event, Chandler and chef James Piazza will offer a three-course, mimosa-paired brunch. Piazza, who is 27, is a pizzaiolo and chef currently working for Chris Bianco in Phoenix. 

My "Take it with a grain of salt" graphic is getting a workout lately. I used it when Glenn Hamer, President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said education is a big winner in the state budget. I used it again with a report saying district schools have higher graduation rates than charter schools. I should have used it when I posted about U.S. News & World Report's Best High Schools list which always puts BASIS schools in the top ten. Sometimes the claims are purposely deceptive (I'm looking at you, Glenn). Other times they're true but don't mean much. Caveat emptor, folks.

Today I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the nine high school students in the Tucson area who were named National Merit Scholars out of a pool of 15,000 finalists. It's a genuine honor for each individual. All of them should be proud. Their parents should be proud. Their schools should be proud.

But separately and with less applause, I want to note where the students go to school. Over half, five out of nine, go to TUSD's University High. Four other schools have one each: Catalina Foothills High, The Gregory School, BASIS Oro Valley and BASIS Tucson North. That's a pretty spectacular showing for UHS and TUSD, especially considering that Catalina Foothill is the only other school district in the area with even a single student chosen. TUSD and UHS, pat yourselves on the back, take a quick bow and move on.

Sports pals, this one is for you: If you're into baseball, making last minute plans and driving to Phoenix, we've got an opportunity you're gonna love.  

The Diamondbacks are playing the San Fransisco Giants on Thursday, May 12 at 6:40 p.m. and you and a pal could be lucky enough to go.

We're giving away two pairs of tickets to the game on Thursday, at noon—as in less than seven hours before you need to be settled into you seats with a beer in one hand and a hot dog in the other. 

By entering, you're agreeing to pick the tickets up at our office (near the Foothills Mall) sometime before we lock the doors at 5 p.m.—though, you should probably be on your way to Phoenix by then, anyways. Good luck!