Hi, I'm Stella!

I'm a beautiful 5-year-old girl and I need a new home! I was transferred to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona from a different shelter so they don't know a lot about my past, but they do know that I love being pet and I know how to sit for treats.

I would make the perfect dog for a family that is looking for a medium energy pet that loves to snuggle! If you have current dogs or kiddos bring them over to HSSA Main Campus at 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd. to do a doggy meet and greet!

Lots of love,
Stella (833538)

As you may recall, on Aug. 22, Judge Catherine Woods heard oral arguments regarding Pima County’s motion to dismiss the suit filed against Pima County by the Goldwater Institute on behalf of a number of Pima County business owners and tax payers regarding the deal with World View Enterprises. After reading the briefs and hearing the arguments, Judge Woods denied three of the four counts from the bench, the remaining count was taken under advisement. The count under advisement was in regards to Article IX, Section 7 of the Arizona Constitution, commonly known as the “Gift Clause.” On Oct. 14, Woods issued a ruling denying  the Gift Clause count. The Goldwater Institute gave the specifics in a press release:

...finding that we have successfully explained our position that the County “'unquestionably abused’ its discretion in spending taxpayer money and lending its credit when, among other things, it took on $15 million in new debt, commenced the construction of the headquarters and balloon pad to be used by a private for-profit corporation that had an unproven ability to conduct its intended operations, failed to obtain competitive bids, committed to lease the premises to the private for-profit corporation at below market rates, and granted to that corporation the right to operate, maintain, and control access to the pad (which would include keeping any profits it makes from allowing other third parties to use the pad).

But wait, there’s more! In the same press release, the Goldwater Institute announced:

... today we are asking the court to cancel the World View lease and force the County to comply with a state law that requires an appraisal, public auction, and a minimum price when the County leases property. When we were in court for the hearing on whether or not the case would be dismissed, the County admitted that it ignored this law, and Judge Woods has already ruled that the law applied. The County will have 30 days to respond to our request for the lease to be cancelled. 

Pima County has had much more luck demonizing the Goldwater Institute than it has had defending the World View deal. It has had some success in portraying the Goldwater Institute as a bunch of contemptible Maricopans who, when they are not pulling wings off of flies, entertain themselves by poking sticks at Pima County. It should be remembered that the Goldwater Institute cares not one whit if Pima County does, or does not, build a launch pad or manufacturing facility. What it cares about is the flouting of laws that are specifically designed to protect the taxpayers and businesses of Arizona. That is what Pima County has done by arranging contract deals in secret (Project Curvature), offering sweetheart financing deals that do not exist in the natural world, and dispensing with the legally required appraisals, competitive bidding, etc. Remember, too, that the Goldwater Institute is not representing itself; rather, it is representing the plaintiffs, also known as your neighbors.

Jonathan Hoffman is the Weekly's libertarian columnist. 

Horror fans know director Ti West for his cult classic horror film House of the Devil, and the horror films V/H/S, The Innkeepers and The Sacrament. His latest, starring Ethan Hawke and John Travolta, is a major departure from his usual projects, a capable, full-on homage to Sergio Leone westerns.

Hawke plays Paul, a drifter who finds himself in a frontier ghost town with a few remaining inhabitants. He and his dog immediately get into some trouble with Gilly (James Ransome), the son of the town marshal (Travolta).

Bad things transpire (this is sort of John Wick set in the old wild west), and Paul sets out for revenge. The resultant gunfights are nicely staged, accentuated by good work from Hawke, Travolta and Ransome.

While Hawke is always reliable these days, Travolta’s film career has been on a bit of downslide (one of a few his career has endured). His performance here as a semi-crooked lawman with a small streak of decency is actually funny at times, and consists of his best work in a film in over five years (It must be noted that he was also quite good as Robert Shapiro in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story).

The film’s biggest surprise would be Taissa Farmiga, providing solid comic relief as a fast talking hotel operator. West does admirable work on the western playground.

The movie doesn’t feel all that original or groundbreaking, but it does look good, has some solid acting, mixing in some nice dark humor for an overall good time.

One of the things I read as a young teacher which stuck with me was, be careful of your use of the verb "to be" when reprimanding a student. If a student lied to you, don't say, "You are a liar." Say something more like, "You told a lie." If a student cheated, don't say, "You are a cheater." Say something more like, "You cheated on that last test." If a student regularly disrupts class, don't say, "You are nothing but a troublemaker." Say, "I won't let you continue to disrupt class," or, "If you keep causing trouble in here, I will . . ."

The reason is, the statement "You are . . ." is very powerful. It is a statement of being, referring to your essential nature (I just checked to see where the word "essential" comes from. It's from the Latin "esse," "to be.") So if I say to a student, "You are a liar," I'm saying that lying is an essential part who that student is. If, on the other hand, I call a statement a lie, I'm dealing with one specific statement at one moment in that student's life, which means the student has the opportunity to stop lying by making a change in behavior, which is far easier than changing his or her essential nature.

It's probable that the other side of the "to be" coin is true as well: if you can get someone to identify with a positive trait by saying, "I am a . . .," you can increase the chance of that person acting on it.

I read a short piece recently that said people are more likely to vote if they consider themselves "voters," as in, "I am a voter," than if they say, "I vote." It cited a study indicating that people who accept the label of "voter" are more likely to cast their ballots than people who simply say they vote. It makes sense to me. If you think of yourself as a "bowler"—"Yeah, I'm a bowler"—you're more likely to hit the lanes than if you say, "Yeah, I bowl now and then." Bowling is part of something you are, not just something you choose to do when the mood strikes, when you have some spare time.

Bowlers bowl. Voters vote.

So I say, let's all be voters, people who act on that essential part of our being whenever the opportunity arises, which happens to be between now and Nov. 8—or a few days earlier if you mail in your ballot.

American Babylon caught up with former GOP Chairman Michael Steele, who says he doesn't rule out the possibility that he will be Michelle Obama's campaign manager in 2024.

Louise Le Hir is one of those people you meet and you’re not for sure where it is she’s going but you’re damn sure she’s gonna get there. She called early one fall morning two years ago, asked if I’d like to go with her to a studio where she was making her first record, meet the owner and take in some music, see the setup. I was drinking my first cup of coffee when she pulled up in a small car that wouldn’t shift into first or second gear, making a short drive more dangerous than usual. But there’s little that’s usual about Louise. She’d been in Tucson seven years, give or take, playing, singing, drinking men under the table, and doing her music slow and patient. She stands out, a natural with long wispy brown hair, a low pitch in her speaking voice, a hint of the Midwest twisting through a throaty laugh, long legs that carried a complex life full of people and places where you don’t go but rather end up, just the same.

Amongst chords, equipment and a drum kit, I met Matt Rendon, the young, motivated music lover who had made a sort of umbrella of different bands, his bands, mainly The Resonars, and projects all out of Rendon’s midtown studio. A large amount of his work comes out on super-buzzed Burger Records in California. He seems inspired by singles, A and B sides that once stood for creative achievement in three minutes, that blew out of the radio like a precious sledge hammer. He also relates to ’60s pop, but he ain’t stuck in a decade long gone; nah, he just has earnest love affair with music. He is unpretentious and warm. He’s recording music that he feels makes a difference.

So I took a chair in a corner of the room and asked if I could hear a finished tune from the month they’d been working slow but steady. Matt gave me headphones and Louise asked him to que “Cosmic Love Song No. 23” for me. The snare drum rolls into an uptempo groove, Lana Rebel holds up the bottom on bass guitar. It is full on. Louise chipping away at her Les Paul Jr. as she begins a narration of a lover’s ups and downs, free of metaphor or apology. Harmonies come strong and large behind her words, an amalgamation of Billy Sherrill’s production sound adjoining some sharp lost Byrds track when Gene Clark was burning up songs like cigarettes. The first verse ends and the chorus busts wide open, pedal steel solo fresh, free of indulgence, just lonesome hearts splashed against Jackson Pollock’s canvas. Connor "Catfish" Gallaher’s solo rings to the heavens and the next verse is moving as we try to stay with it. Louise belts out grace without pretense and we hit that chorus one more time: And I only fall in love to feel the pain/Ain’t no ordinary thing I can explain/I need life to keep on livin’/I love you for your misgivin’s/And I only fall in love to feel the pain. It’s like one beautiful paper cut you bear for its magic and then the song slows and a single chord rings.

This is a haunting, gorgeous song, comes in under four minutes, and later this month a
video of this pearl will be out for all to watch, once and then again and again.

Here's something to add to "Taco trucks on every corner" and "Nasty Women" on social media. "Jan Brewer says, Hispanics don't get out and vote."

Everybody's writing about Arizona right now, with Hillary looking like she's edging past Donald in the polls. If Hillary takes Arizona, that means a lot more than a few electoral votes. It could mean a purpling, maybe even a bluing, of the state. And one big reason would be an assertion by a growing number of Hispanics of their power at the ballot box.

Former Governor Jan Brewer says she's not worried.

Some Republicans dismissed the notion that Democratic-leaning Hispanics will become a significant enough force to tip the balance to Clinton.

“Nah,” former Arizona governor Jan Brewer said in an interview. “They don’t get out and vote.’’

Celebrate life, love and good fortune in Casa Grande on Friday, Nov. 11 at the annual Lantern Fest, where thousands of people join together to release lanterns into the night sky.

The event kickstarts just before sundown. Friends and families huddle around campfires in the middle of the desert to keep warm and enjoy food, live music, a stage show, face painting, s'mores, balloon artists and more.

Historically, lanterns have been used to symbolize good fortune, request favorable weather, or to celebrate the life of a loved one—just to name a few. The creators of the festival, Sack Lunch Productions, refer to the release of these lanterns as a metaphor for "our highest hopes, deepest regrets and fondest dreams."

The atmosphere is unlike anything else. Everyone at is smiling, hugging, talking and truly taking in every moment. When the sky is completely dark, you'll watch everyone release their beautiful, yellow lanterns up into the sky and soak in the experience together. As the lights float on into the darkness, they begin to look like tiny stars. Then, everyone sits in silence and soaks up the beauty before them.

With heavy hearts, the Tucson community is morning the loss of two special individuals. 

On Tuesday, Oct. 18, Abril Castillo and her 12-year-old daughter Luisa were tragically killed in a car crash on the Interstate 10. They were en route to Luisa's to school when their car was hit by a semi truck that lost control. 

Even though this event is plagued with tragedy, we must remember Abril for the amazing woman and mother that impacted many lives in the Tucson community, and her daughter for the intelligent and bright young girl she was. Founding incredible projects such as T-Town Sessions and Tucson People, Abril was a talented artist and photographer dedicated to shedding light on the beauty of Tucson. With T-Town Sessions she worked tirelessly to showcase the rich local music and art scene, and with Tucson People she gave a voice to the local individuals who make Tucson what it is. 

In memory of these two incredible people, a memorial fund has been made in their name. You can make a contribution to the fund here, or plan to attend the benefit being held in their honor this weekend at Caffe Passe. 

It might be 90 degrees outside, but it is fall and with fall comes a series of delicious and refreshing Oktoberfest-ivals. This weekend, the fest to not miss is 4thtoberfest.

This Saturday, Oct. 22 from 1 to 7 p.m., enjoy bands, brats and so many local beers on 4th Avenue. 

Now, you can get into the bars and see the bands without purchasing a $15 ticket, but it does sound like a good deal (and a portion of sales will be donated to KXCI): A ticket gets you eight tasting tickets redeemable for 1 nickel pour each, a 5 ounce logo glass and a discount on your brat plates (plan to spend $5 on those) plus exclusive access to some specialty beers—but we'll get to those in a second. 

First, lets get you in! Five lucky people are getting a pair of tickets from us. Fill out our entry form here and we'll get in touch with winners today (Thursday, Oct. 20) and tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 21).

Now that we've got all the logistics out of the way, let's go over what you'll be putting in your mouth: