Welcome to the week where full of good, old-fashioned hate sweeps across our state like a wayward Haboob racing across the parched desert.

I'm talking, of course, about the biannual throw-down on the hard wood between our state's largest institutions of higher knowledge—The University of Arizona and Arizona State University.

The rivalry (which really hasn't been much of a contest over the years), has seen the Wildcats on the winning end in 15 of the last 20 matchups—including five straight since 2016.

The first clash between the two went the way of the Wildcats, with Sean Miller's squad narrowly escaping a home court defeat, 84-78, over the then-third ranked Sun Devils.

Arizona's victory in the Dec. 30 matchup stemmed largely from ASU's inability to hit the broadside of a barn offensively, shooting a dismal 37.9 percent from the field (and 32 percent from three-point territory) in the contest.

The Sun Devils' performance in that game looks even ghastlier when you remove do-it-all point guard Tra Holder from the equation. Holder, who has been one of the best scorers in the nation this season, pummeled the Wildcats' defense, to the tune of 31 points in the late December showdown.

Holder, who leads the Sun Devils offensively, with 19.3 points per game, has been red-hot in ASU's last five games, scoring 20 or more points in four of the five contests, with 22 points in each of the team's wins over USC and UCLA last week.

Miller admitting during his weekly press conference that the Wildcats' were lucky in their first contest, saying the game's final stats reflected ASU's inability to score, rather than his team playing excellent defense.

"That's a little deceiving because you have to realize how many three-point attempts
they're taking, right?" Miller said. "...So for us, you have to be careful. Free throw attempts, three attempts are big parts of ASU's attack and the consistent effort throughout, not just in the first half but both halves and being able to get great defense from our bench in a continued effort."

Rawle Alkins' return to normalcy

A big advantage for Arizona this go-around is the relative health of sophomore guard Rawle Alkins, who missed a large portion of the season with a foot injury.

“And this old porch is like a steaming, greasy plate of enchiladas/With lots of cheese and onions/And a guacamole salad/You can get ’em down at the LaSalle Hotel/In old downtown/With iced tea and a waitress/She will smile every time.” The still life captured in “This Old Porch,” a song penned by acclaimed songwriters Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen, embodies the spirit of the evening. A night of storytelling awaits at the historic Fox Theatre… Drawing influence from Steel Pulse and Aswad, Tribal Seeds add a twist of “The Devil’s Music” to their Rastafarian roots reggae. At The Rialto Theatre… Black Ginger—like the medicinal qualities found in the plant—will invigorate at The Flycatcher. With TWGS and Sweaty Palm Trees… “Garage-a-billy” rockers Johnny Hootrock teeter on the verge of a psychotic break at The Loudhouse… Like street preachers fulfilling a command to an unseen entity, Al Perry and Loren Dircks spin yarns at Tap & Bottle… Man of many faces Jacob Acosta hosts a soirée at Bar Passé… Offering solace to the lovelorn, MOCA Tucson offers post-Valentine’s respite for all ages. Featuring noisy new-wavers Aerico and post-hardcore shoegazers Hikikomori. DJs, food truck, artmaking activities, interactive light drawings and more…

Delivering an apocalyptic Valentine, Sweethearts of The Rodeo lasso together a winning group of ladies—Lana Rebel, Amy Rude, Lonna Kelly, Lisa O'Neill, June West, Karima Walker, Cristina Williams, Marina Cornelius, Tulip Sweet—for a romantic night of harmony, singing the sweetest of country duets. Guaranteed to soften even the leathern heart of the lovelorn. In the listening room at Exo Bar… Armed with a few cassette tapes of songs she had written and already into her 40s, she quit her day job to pursue her life’s passion. Almost immediately her fear transformed into success. Celebrate Jazz singer René Marie’s triumph at The Fox Theatre… Wearing their hearts on their sleeves. Gabrielle Pietrangelo, Ben Degain and Thøger Lund perform ardent love songs from the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s. At The Coronet…

When I first read about a 12 year old African American student being sent home from Teleos Preparatory Academy because his hair was braided, I dismissed it as little more than a dress code, or hair code, story.

Teleos charter is part of the Great Hearts charter chain which has 23 schools in the greater Phoenix area. The schools say what clothing and hair styles are acceptable in their handbook, and if students violate the rules, they're sent home. At Great Hearts, boys aren't allowed to have shaved heads, Mohawks, rat’s tails, pony tails, or braids. They also can't have long hair or dye their hair in non-natural colors.

Yawn. Next education story, please?

As the story developed, I realized I was suffering from a case of white blindness. All the other prohibited hair styles are societal statements or personal fashion choices, and reasonable people can debate whether or not they're appropriate in a school setting. But hair braids are part of an African American cultural tradition, and to deny that hair style is to disrespect the traditions and culture of a group of people who have suffered disrespect and far worse since they set foot on this continent. So this is more than a generic dress code issue. Hair braids for an African American male are a different matter entirely from the other prohibited choices.

After first defending the school's actions to the press, the superintendent of Arizona's Great Hearts charters reversed course and issued a statement saying the student is welcome at the school, braids and all. "This event has triggered an internal review," the statement said, "to determine what changes may be needed to ensure this policy is sensitive to the cultural diversity we are proud to have in our academies."

Great Hearts deserves credit for doing the right thing in this case. But there's more to the Great Hearts story which puts this example of racial insensitivity in perspective.

Much like the BASIS charter school chain, Great Hearts charters generally have a rigorous academic curriculum and cater to high achieving students. In most of their Phoenix-area schools, the vast majority of the students are Anglo and Asian. The one exception is Teleos Preparatory Academy where the student's hair braids became a problem. Teleos is 6 percent Anglo and 1 percent Asian. Most of the other students are African American and Hispanic.

Are you a fan of Polish fruit-filled pastries and looking to boost your Karma quotient? If so, boy, are you in luck!

Bashas Supermarkets, the only grocery store in Tucson selling Paczkis, is donating 10 percent of the money from all sales of the fruity Polish pastries that are synonymous with Fat Tuesday and the Lenten season to The Society of St. Vincent de Paul—so gorge yourself silly on the delicacies for a good cause.

The pastries, which traditionally would be gobbled up by Polish families, are designed to use up all of the fat, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house (all of which were banned during Lenten season). The result: Sweet donuts with fruity custard filling.

You can pick up a half-dozen Paczkis for only $2.99, or buy them individually for 75 cents—though the deal is a Fat Tuesday-only offer.

Visit Bashas' Facebook page for more information.

Dawson Rutledge. If Harry Connick Jr. was funnier, if Beck was Canadian, if Wes Anderson was a pop-folkster born in the late 1990s, you'd have something approximating the blinky yet sincere ponderings of Dawson Rutledge. He's an old-souled and wonder-filled 20-year-old. His music trips senses. Like a silent movie. Like physical comedy. Like he sees thought bubbles and captions above murals. It's clean and universal and destined to get better. Rutledge can sometimes be precious, but what the hell, he's 20. More than that, he's unafraid to play the fool in order to make overlooked wallflowers grin. His songcraft is kind and playful, like a sweet Valentine to your lonely self. Monday, Feb. 12. The Flycatcher, 340 E. Sixth St. 9 p.m. Free. 21+.

Hi there! I’m Posole!

I am a 1-year-old girl ready to meet the purr-fect family! I came to HSSA as a transfer from another shelter so they don’t know much about my past. They do know that I am a very sweet and loveable girl that is going to make someone very happy!

Come meet me at HSSA Main Campus at 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd., or give an adoptions counselor a call at 520-327-6088, ext. 173 for more information.

Lots of Purrs,
Posole (851560)

Do you remember when you used to check out DVD’s at your local library every time you visited? Now as the Pima County Public Library continues to grow digitally you can do the same and watch your favorite films online.

The Pima County Public Library recently announced the beginning of a service allowing cardholders for free through Kanopy, a video streaming service.

PLCP cardholders are now able to watch 10 movies a month on their devices, as they would with any other video streaming service such as Netflix or Hulu.

Kanopy is a video streaming service that is used by public libraries to allow people to watch films on-demand. The movie choices are abundant and attractive to any cinema enthusiast because the service international films, documentaries, critically-acclaimed films and the good ol’ classics.

Amber Mathewson, the Library Director said in a press release that Kanopy is the growth to the of the library’s online collection of resources that they are “tremendously proud to offer.”

“Our E-Library has tools for nearly anything you can think of—language learning, automotive repair, understanding current events, and of course, music and video streaming. Get a library card, and you can access a world of information and entertainment anywhere,” Mathewson said.

To access Kanopy search for it on the PCPL E-Library or create an account on pimalibrary.kanopy.com.