I can’t remember agreeing with Greg Miller—a Republican who runs a charter school and is ex-president of the Arizona Board of Education—before. But an op ed he wrote for the Capitol Times, GOP support of voucher expansion bill an insult to most students, is an exception to the rule. It begins,

As an advocate for education reform for the past 35 years, a co-founder of a very successful charter school, a lifelong Republican, and the most recent past president of the Arizona State Board of Education, I have never been more embarrassed, outraged, disappointed, and angry to call myself a Republican. How on earth do the Republicans in the state Legislature who voted for the Empowerment Scholarship Account (voucher) bill, or our governor, who signed it, look in the mirror and in good faith, not understand what they have just done.

Miller continues,

Public education has been the equalizer for 150 years of economic growth and assimilation of immigrants into the culture that we enjoy today. This is an insult to the hundreds of thousands of students who do not have the resources to pay the additional thousands of dollars for the tuition these private schools will be charging above the state subsidy, and without the opportunity of a quality education provided in their local schools where due process and common goals of expectation drive the continued development of economic expansion for everyone, not just a privileged few.

He ends by saying voters need to kick out the ESA expansion supporters in 2018.

All Republicans that share this view [against voucher expansion] use your vote in next summer’s Republican primary to replace anyone who supported this transfer of economic wealth from our public school system to the private schools of the wealthy.

I’ll take exception with Miller here and say we need to kick out the anti-education Republicans and replace them with some pro-education, pro-child Democrats, but hey, we can agree to disagree on that one.

Tonight on the televised edition of Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: I talk with Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik about Prop 101, the city's proposal to hike the sales tax by a half-cent per dollar for five years in order to  fund capital improvements for the police and fire departments and do more road repair. We also talk about the UA's controversial proposal to build a massive Honor's College campus right smack in the historic West University Neighborhood, the city's lawsuit against the state over the state's efforts to take away more than $100 million in state-shared revenues because the city destroys some guns instead of selling them at auction and some other city issues.

Then we've got an exit interview with Tucson Metro Chamber President & CEO Mike Varney, who recently announced his plans to step down after six years on the job. We discuss whether the city of Tucson and Pima County are more business-friendly than they were when he arrived, what the state should do about education funding and why the chamber is supporting Prop 101.

Tune in tonight at 6:30 p.m. on the Creative Tucson Network, Channel 20 on Cox Cable and Channel 74 on Comcast. The show repeats at 9 a.m. Sunday mornings.

On this weekend's radio edition of Zona Politics, I talk with Democrat Paul Durham, who is seeking to replace the retiring Ward 3 Councilwoman Karin Uhlich. Durham is facing fellow Democrats Tom Tronsdal and Felicia Chew in the August primary election.

The radio show airs at 5 p.m. Sundays on community radio KXCI, 91.3 FM, and at 1 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. Sundays on KEVT, 1210 AM.

“I have been involved in fighting violence and helping victims of violence since 1980 when my sister was killed in an armed robbery in Chicago,” Suzie Agrillo explains. That event also inspired the genesis of her annual Comedy for Charity variety show at the Fox Tucson Theatre.

This year’s extravaganza, “Thank You for Serving” is set for 7 p.m., Sunday, April 23. Tickets are $20 to $60, to benefit Emerge Center for Domestic Abuse and La Frontera’s “Rally Point,” which provides mental and behavioral health services for veterans, including suicide prevention and peer support. Tickets are at comedyforcharity.org and foxtucson.com

Mayor Jonathon Rothschild, recently a victim of a carjacking at gunpoint, is honorary chair of the event, and Tucson comic artist and comedian David Fitzsimmons emcees. Nationally acclaimed relationship comedian Tommy Blaze heads a comedy line-up that includes Dallas comedy club owner and Tucson favorite Butch Lord, Suzie Sexton (Agrillo’s stage name) and, from Washington D.C., USMC veteran Michael Garvey, who earned a Purple Heart in Afghanistan and performs with his service dog, Liberty.

Among the “variety” entries will be the super-tight hip hop dance team EgoKillAZ and the band Los Guapos, featuring U.S. Army Veteran Engel Indo. The Tucson group plays original music that blends Latin, surf and Spaghetti Western sounds. “Back by popular demand,” Agrillo says, is local superstar drag queen Janeé Starr, a crowd favorite at the 2014 show.

Lunch with Mayor Rothschild is a highlight of a raffle that also includes donations from Philabaum Glass, Kendra Scott jewelry and other local businesses.

Agrillo held her first Comedy for Charity show in 2011 at Laff’s Comedy Caffe. “Right when I was planning the event, the shootings at Safeway happened, and Gabrielle Giffords, Christina Taylor Green were shot and Christina died,” she says. “Maybe because of that it was sold out. All that just underscored the importance of raising awareness about violence in the community, assisting victims of violence and doing what I can to prevent violence.”

Asked how she found her own voice in comedy, Agrillo says, “Around the time of the first show, after my family reunion, I decided to do standup as a catharsis. (Tucson comedian) Nancy Stanley got me into it. Estrogen Hour (Stanley’s comedy benefit for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) didn't exist then, but I kind of got addicted to it after that. I think having a dysfunctional family kind of disposes you to comedy.”

The “pop-up” trend has gained much attention in Tucson in the last few years thanks to an up and coming chef, an innovative restaurant owner, and a couple of creative entrepreneurs. Pop-ups—temporary shops or events that typically last anywhere from a day to a few months—have been popular in big cities, but Tucson has recently become a hub for a variety of inventive pop-ups.
Traditionally, pop-ups are retail stores offering a variety of goods for a short amount of time.

Cultivate Tucson co-owners, Claire Seizovic and Kristin Tovar, saw Tucson as the perfect location for pop-up shops and decided to start their own shop brand in 2015.

“Tucson is definitely going through a creative renaissance right now,” Seizovic said in regards to why it is the right time for these unique markets in Tucson. Cultivate Tucson’s shops feature local artists and designers and are hosted in under-utilized spaces. Seizovic said the benefits of having a pop-up shop in comparison to a regular brick-and-mortar retail store include cost, momentum, and marketing. She said since the markets are a once a-year, one-day event the need for constant marketing isn’t there and the temporariness adds a hype aspect that encourages people to attend. “If you know its always available, it becomes less exciting,” Seizovic said.

Though Seizovic and Tovar weren’t the ones to create the pop-up concept, they’ve come up with ways to innovate the idea. An important part of Cultivates mission is donating to local non-profits.

By participating in the pop-up, all vendors agree to donate 20 percent of their sales to either a non-profit Cultivate highlights at the event or a non-profit of their choosing. Seizovic said that incorporating non-profits into the pop-up was “there from the very beginning.” At their December 2016 market, they were able to donate $10,000 to non-profits. Cultivate also stands out by the spaces they use. Their pop-ups are hosted in unused spaces that were not originally meant for retail stores. They used an old tire shop south of downtown for their last pop-up. By utilizing these unused, perhaps forgotten spaces, Seizovic said it is “a way to highlight a space for someone else to permanently buy.”

Cultivate Tucson recently announced their first spring pop-up shop. “The Flash” pop-up shop will be on Saturday, May 20 from 9am to 4pm. The shop will take place at an old appliance store, Flash TV and Appliance.

Chef Riley Chandler has also used location as a way to reinvent the concept of pop-ups. Chandler created his business, Pop-up Tucson, to bring pop-up dinners to Tucson. He first got the idea from Scottsdale chef, T.J. Culp. Culp had been successfully hosting pop-up dinners throughout the Scottsdale area and Chandler thought Tucson would be a good place for the concept. Since his first pop-up in May of 2016, he has hosted a total of 5 pop-ups in Tucson and 5 in different U.S. cities. Chandler has had success in bringing pop-up dinners to Tucson and said it is largely because people are attracted to the uniqueness of the event. “You’re not confined to four walls inside a restaurant, you’re literally outside the box,” Chandler said.

Besides the inventive location, Chandler uses other unique elements like collaborations with chefs and entertainment for guests. Collaborating with other chefs is one of Chandler’s favorite aspects of the pop-ups because it not only benefits him but the guests as well. He said it brings in other influences and allows him to learn from other culinary minds. “It elevates my style.”

He often brings in chefs from Phoenix, which allows the guests to taste their food without having to go to Phoenix. As for the entertainment aspect, Chandler always incorporates the arts into the dining experience. He says though it is not a necessary element, it is something important to him. “It ties the knot around the whole vibe,” he said. Past pop-up dinners have featured a jazz trio and a live painter.
Restaurant owner, Scott Stiteler, revamped the pop-up trend to fit his passion for history and restaurants. Stiteler opened up his pop-up bar, Martin Drug Co., in February as a way to utilize an old building while he creates his long-term plan for the space. Stiteler hopes that by first using the space as a pop-bar while he plans the restaurant, he can reintroduce the space to the public and bring it back into people’s lives. The pop-up bar is only utilizing about 1,000 square feet of the space. The inspiration for the pop-up bar came from an old drugstore that used to reside in the building in the late 1880’s to mid-1960s. When Stiteler discovered this he knew it made sense to respect that history while also adding, “a dose of fun.”

The space gives ode to its history through black and white images of the Martin family and their drug store that hang on the walls of the pop-up. The traditional black and white pictures are met with funky and modern décor, giving the space the perfect blend of old and new. Stiteler said that since the bar is temporary, there was a lot more latitude when it came to interior design. Unlike most pop-ups, Martin Drug Co. will remain open for a generous 6 months. It will then be reinvented again into a more family-friendly, traditional eatery Stiteler said.

There's no way Republicans can take away the initiative process using the initiative process. Voters won't go for that. And they can't push through school vouchers that way either; people always vote against vouchers. So this year, Republicans have used their legislative majority to thumb their noses at voters, taking away something they like and pushing through more of something they don't.

We've been there before. In 2013 Republicans tried to make it more difficult for voter-proposed initiatives to make it on the ballot. But after passing an anti-initiative law, they repealed it a year later because a move was afoot to let the people decide if they liked what the legislators had done. Republicans hurried to get rid of the law to save themselves from an embarrassing defeat, and to let them reenact anti-initiative legislation later piece by piece, which is what they've done this year.

Private school vouchers have never been on the ballot in Arizona. The Republican-controlled legislature voted in School Tuition Organizations in 1997. In 2011 it did the same for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. Then year by year it passed new bills to expand the two voucher systems.

Why didn't Republicans let voters have their say on STOs or ESAs? Because they know, voucher ballot measures have never passed anywhere—at least not for the past 30 years, which is as far back as I can find information.

Here's a list of statewide votes on vouchers, courtesy of Ballotpedia.

• 1990: Oregon Tuition Tax Credits. Defeated 68%-32%.
• 1993: California School Vouchers. Defeated 70%-30%.
• 1996: Washington State School Vouchers. Defeated 64%-36%.
• 1998: Colorado Tuition Tax Credits. Defeated 60%-40%.
• 2000: California School Vouchers. Defeated 71%-29%.
• 2007: Utah School Vouchers. Defeated 63%-38%.

It's spring in the desert and we all know what that means: It's Best of Tucson® time.

I think the timing is a little poetic. Just as the temperature outside starts to make some of us desert rats think, "Maybe I'm done with living through the unique hell of monsoon season with a swamp cooler. Maybe I could brave a little snow in the winter months," or even, "Maybe I'm destined to be a snow bird," Best of Tucson is back to remind you with a (possibly too extensive?) survey forcing you to think about your local favorites.

Go fill out your ballot—you've got until the end of May. Here's a rundown of the rules, in case you're new:

Adam Sandler’s third movie with Netflix is the very definition of over indulgence.

There’s a decent movie in here from director Steven Brill, who worked with Sandler previously on Little Nicky, Mr. Deeds and The Do-Over.

Sandler stars as the title character, a talent manager trying to find new clients in the ‘90’s. After working with low level comedians and daredevils, Sandy finds Courtney Clarke (Jennifer Hudson), an amusement park performer with a stunning voice. Sandy takes charge of her career, and sends her on a superstar trajectory. Sandler creates one of his weirdo characterizations, with a goofy voice and strange mannerisms. While some of the ‘90s jokes involving Fruitopia, Arsenio Hall and the Atkins Diet are pretty funny, Sandler and Brill take the movie off into a strange, unlikely romance realm that destroys all of the fun.

The movie is supremely overstuffed at 130 minutes, with one subplot too many involving Terry Crews as a flamboyant wrestler. His entire story arc could’ve been left on the cutting room floor. Kevin James has a fairly funny supporting role as a ventriloquist who carries on regular conversations through his dummies, and Nick Swardson scores some laughs as a daredevil reminiscent of Super Dave Osborne and Evil Knievel. Hudson is good in her role, even when the character inexplicably falls for Sandy.

At 90 minutes and without the love story, this one might’ve been okay. As it stands, it’s another miss for Sandler (Streaming exclusively on Netflix).

Your Weekly guide to keeping busy in the Old Pueblo.

Earth Day

Earth Day at Biosphere 2. Our favorite terrarium is celebrating Earth Day with a full-day festival that will include talks about local food, energy, water and the environment, as well as a look at what’s happened at the Biosphere since the University of Arizona College of Science took it over 10 years and a look at what’s planned for the next decade, including a groundbreaking for a new farm inside Biosphere 2. You’ll also have food trucks to fill your belly, ladybug and hermit crab releases to entertain the kids, and a sunset concert by Calexico to cap off the day. The fun starts at 9 a.m. at Biosphere 2, at the intersection of Oracle Road and Biosphere 2 Road.

Rally for Science Tucson. With the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to deny climate change and otherwise cut research funding, scientists are taking to the streets to protest. Tucsonans will be joining other cities around the nation who are marching for science (although in Tucson, they’ll be doing a rally instead of a march because getting there was too much red tape to get a permit for a march). You’ll find speakers, science booths, entertainment and more from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 22. El Presidio Plaza Park, 175 W. Alameda St. Free.

DIY Wedding Centerpiece Workshop Part 1. If you are looking for ways to stay green on Earth Day but don't want to get too muddy, this is the event for you. Green Things will be hosting a DIY Wedding Centerpiece Workshop where you can make your own centerpiece using your favorite succulents and more! The only catch is that you have to pay for your supplies at the event. 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 22. Green Things, 3384 E. River Road. Bring money for supplies.

Workshops in the Garden. Learn how to make your vary own macramé hanging planter to brighten up your home with fresh plants! You'll also learn about air purification plants and utilizing herbs. 4-6 p.m. Sunday, April 23. UA Community Garden, 1400 E. Mabel St. Free.

Family Fun

Pima County Fair. The annual 11-day hootenanny that is the Pima County Fair kicks off Thursday, April 20, with all the usual fun—a senses-shattering carnival, all those cute critters in the 4H competition, arts and crafts created by your neighbors in Old Pueblo Hall, big fat turkey legs fresh from the grill and so much more—as well as a special concert by T-Pain and Naughty by Nature. The fun continues through Sunday, April 30, with more concerts—including the Village People on Tuesday, April 25, and Septima Banda on Saturday, April 29—and plenty of spectacle. Grab the family and head out the fairgrounds, 11300 S. Houghton Road. The main gate opens at 1 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $8, $4 for kids 6 through 10 and free for anyone younger. For more info, call 762-FAIR.

Kids Fix It! Parents and kids can learn how to maintain a child's bike without having to send it in for repairs every time something breaks. If your child loves to ride his or her bike, make sure they get as much mileage as possible out of it! Register for the class at bicas.org. 9-11 a.m. Sunday, April 23. BICAS, 44 W. Sixth St. $20.

Food and Booze

Cheba Hut's Annual 4/20 Party. If you're celebrating the stoner's Christmas, then head out to Cheba Hut for live music, games and eating contests. All food will be $4.20 and drinks will be provided the entire day—you can even play beer pong for as long as you want. So grab your favorite munchies and join Cheba Hut in their annual party of their favorite product. 10 a.m.-midnight Thursday, April 20. Cheba Hut, 1820 E. Sixth St. Bring money for food and booze.

Israel Carnival. Join Israel with Wildcats and support the Save a Child's Heart Philanthropy with this fun-packed festival. Some activities on deck are henna tattooing, raffles, bounce houses and photo booths. You can also munch on some falafel and sip on Israeli beer at a bar. 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 25.1245 E. Second St. $2-$3.


Baja Beer Festival. This festival will feature 50 breweries and 200 craft beers on tap, along with food vendors, live music and lawn games to keep the party rocking. All the proceeds go toward the Northwest Firefighters Charities and the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild. 5-9 p.m. Saturday, April 22. 4502 N. First Ave. $15 for designated drivers, $40 for 20 tasting tickets and $60 for 25 tasting tickets, a food voucher and a VIP area. If you're quick (and lucky!) you might be able to win some tickets here.

Cinema

Parks and Recreation Trivia Night. “Any dog under fifty pounds is a cat and cats are useless.” Think you're the biggest Parks and Recs fan in Tucson? Well, go find out by playing their ultimate trivia game and “TREAT YOSELF” with some food from the YouSlyDog food truck. Bring your A-game and if you're in it to win it, then you better believe Ron Swanson will be proud of you. 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, April 25. Casa Video and Casa Film Bar, 2905 E. Speedway Blvd. Bring money for food.

Books

Spent Saints. TW arts and entertainment editor Brian Smith’s new collection of intertwined short stories, Spent Saints, is flying off the shelves—and for good reason: Smith mashes up Raymond Carver, Hubert Selby Jr. and Iceberg Slim but ends up with a voice all his own, telling stories of quiet desperation and occasional redemption that will hook you right on the first page. He’ll be reading from book at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 23, at Barnes and Noble, 5130 E. Broadway. Free, but be a decent human being and buy a copy of the book.

Music

Jenny and the Mexicats. A jazz kit played with sticks and mano, an upright bass tattooed with comely women, jaunty Caribbean-influenced acoustic guitar and a beautiful blond siren with, yes, a trumpet. Do you wanna dance yet? Jenny will lure you in with her bluesy no-nonsense voice. She doesn't want to work, just to dance. This relationship is torture. It's just plain better in Buenos Aires. And always her case is compelling, the music a perfect dance in and of itself, pieced together like good jazz—every player counts. Jenny's from Britain but her Spanish is impeccable, the drummer is from Spain and the strings are from Mexico, but this group is original, like Manu Chau without the political agenda or a killer ska combo minus the kitsch. They are independents and the sum of their parts is from a land of heart and strong, quick rhythm. At Club Congress, 311 E. Congress. Saturday, April 22; 7 p.m. $8. 21+.

The Wailers. It's been five years since the world's most legendary reggae band played Tucson. Still led by Aston Barrett, still repping the most faithful and spirited renditions of the late, great Bob Marley's songs and often full-length albums, The Wailers can hardly be called a nostalgia act. Their incredibly tight 2-4 rhythms and genius pop melodies, perhaps the most recognizable worldwide only third to the Beatles and Stones, are always offered up with reverence for the listeners and the Prophet and the soulful charge of the music itself. "If you know your history, then you will know where I'm coming from." Rediscover the I-and-I vibrations from as close to the source as we can get this side of Mount Zion. With DJ Jahmar International at Rialto Theater, 318 E. Congress. Sunday, April 23; 8 p.m. $18-$25.

Gaza Strip. Longing for the simpler days before boring high-gravity microbrews and limp lumberjack clones, when shitty facial hair was not an ironic statement but merely a signifier of true inner loathing? Then the kill-riff blast of Gaza Strip is all for you. See, there’s a poetic simplicity in their groin-deep basslines, thunderous rhythms and throat-ripping choruses. Gaza Strip have been together long enough (two albums, new one coming) that they're a kind of fringe-punk (with metal and art-pop overtones) nostalgia act that never needed to make it. Like a network re-run you count on; you might not even have liked it when it first came out, but by now the plotlines and senseless car chases have kept you company on sleepless nights while you’re folding laundry. Check your pretensions at the door and catch a fiery set from this heroically constant combo, one of Tucson’s finest. On Thursday, April 27 at The Flycatcher, 340 E. Sixth St. With Bryan Thomas Parker, Shooda Shook It and The Unday. 21+. 9 p.m. Free.

Twin Peaks. You've played VU's Loaded so damn often you got the box-set extras down. Those ambling jangle guitars nailed down tight by a straight-up R&B groove drums … You are both bored and exhilarated strolling suburbia looking for whatever shit comes your way. So here's the sweetly named Twin Peaks from Chicago, dudes all twisted up in a post-Velvets, post-Beasties world. (Wait. It’s good!) And the singer has got be more grating than flat to pull off the malcontent thing in these times—oh, but those fleeting moments of fucked-up doo-wop let you know he can sing. Zappa would approve. "Making Breakfast" is as profound as it is silly. And that "Butterfly" video, rolling five deep through the tombstones thinking about getting it on? Here’s a band that reminds us of the mundane joys of just being alive. What was that talk of suburbia before? Never underestimate. Go see ’em, fresh from Coachella. With Chrome Pony and Post Animal Tuesday, April 25. 191 Toole. 8 p.m. $13. All ages.

"Streets of This Town" is a little daily photo series featuring random pics I take on long walks through Tucson—to sort of coincide with Tucson Salvage.

It’s that time of year again folks: The Pima County Fair is back which, for most, is the official kickoff to summer in Tucson.

Here’s your guide on some quick information you should know before attending. 

• The Pima County Fair will take place April 20-30. General admission is $8, ages 6 to 10 are $4, and kids who are 5-years-old and under are free.
  
  
• The annual fair is adding activities to their list with more concerts, food, rides, and exhibits. Popular events from previous years are back such as the butterfly exhibit, John Shaw’s Freak Show, and the Wild About Monkeys exhibit.
  
  
• Concerts during the full ten days of the fair will include performances by T-Pain with Naughty by Nature, Rockfest with Cinderella’s Tome Keifer and Winger, Josh Turner, Jack Hanna’s Into the Wild Live!, Lil Yachty, Tanya Tucker, and many more.
  
  
• If you are still a kid at heart who now also has a kid, the carnival section is where you want to be. Two types of carnival sections will be available for everyone: The Kiddie Land Carnival is for families with younger children and The Tucson Weekly Carnival is designed for those adventure-seeking Tucsonans.
  
  
• Guests can purchase a wristband in order to go on all the rides or you can purchase individual tickets at the ticket booth. The fair is offering a “Fun Pass” to fair goers which acts as a debit card and once the card is scanned before going on a ride, the number of “tickets” for that ride is deducted from the card.
  
  
• For all the horse lovers out there, the fair will be having horse shows that include performances from competition horses such as hunter/jumper, Arabian, reining horse, paint horse, quarter horse, and a lot more.
  
  
• And, as for the real reason why anyone goes to fairs, the food is going to be great. There are going to be many options to choose from, so come hungry. For annual fair goers, you’ll see new food stations too so it’s a win-win for everyone. Some popular foods to expect there are Lisa’s Sonoran Hot Dogs, Mustards Café, Candy Factory, Big Dogs, Dutchmen’s Funnel Cakes, Squeezers, Texas Steak out, and Get Pickled.
  
  
• The newbies will include Sleek Greek, Sweet Cheeks Deep Fried Sweets, Hot Dog on a Stick, and Tommy D’s Burgers—yum.
  
  
• The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona and Greater Vail Community Resources are partnering to collect food for their organizations and as a reward to whoever brings in three cans of food before 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 20 and Sunday, April 30, they will get free admission into the fair so be a good person and donate food to help feed the hungry.
  
  
• An annual livestock auction will be taking place under the county fair Ramada during the second weekend. Large animals will be auctioned on Saturday, April 29 at 11:45 a.m. and small animals will be auctioned the next day at 10:30 a.m.
  
  
• Also, during the second weekend of the fair is the Grand Canyon Pro- Rodeo Association Rodeo at 1 p.m. in Manny’s Area.
  

Luckily for you, we can help you get in for free. Enter here, and we'll get in touch with winners throughout the fair. These passes are good for any night.

Main gate hours will open on Monday to Friday at 1 p.m. and on weekends at 10 a.m. All the exhibits open at the same time as the main gate but each hall close at different hours of the night.

The carnival hours will be Monday to Friday at 3 p.m. and on weekends at 11 a.m.

The fair will be located at 11300 S. Houghton Rd. which is one-mile south of the I-10 and Houghton Rd. exit. Parking is $5.

Be there or be square.