Monday, June 11, 2018
“My name is Phantom but you won’t find me hiding. I am a very outgoing girl who enjoys giving kisses!”
— Phantom (856905)
Do you have questions? Leave a comment below or give an adoptions counselor a call at 520-327-6088, ext. 154. Can’t wait another minute to meet Phantom? Bring your family to meet her at PAWSH La Encantada at 2905 E. Skyline Dr.
Friday, June 8, 2018
I'm seeing lots in the news these days about the "Tax the Rich" ballot measure, the Invest in Education Act. The problem is, lots of us tax-math impaired folk don't understand how the added tax would work if the measure passes. I went and talked to some people who know more about taxes than I do, and I have a better understanding of how it works. Now, I'm taking it upon myself to explain what the new tax would mean to the one percenters who would pay it, in a way even I can understand.
First, the basics. If the Invest in Education Act passes, an individual making more than $250,000 or a couple making more than $500,000 will pay a higher state tax rate than the rest of us. If an individual makes $500,000 or a couple makes $1 million, the tax rate is even higher. The extra taxes go toward funding education.
Arizona's current personal income tax rate is 4.54 percent. It would go up to 8 percent when an individual's income hits $250,000 or a couple's hits $500,000, then 9 percent at $500,000 for an individual or $1 million for a couple.
So what does that mean in terms of money for the one percenters? Let's use a couple for this explanation, just so I don't confuse things by trying to include figures for individuals and couples.
Let's begin with what the tax measure doesn't mean. It doesn't mean a couple making $499,999 pays 4.54 percent on all their income, but add a dollar and they pay 8 percent on the whole $500,000. Uh uh. Not at all. Adding that one dollar doesn't bring a tsunami of new taxes down on their heads. The rate on the first $500,000 is the same as everyone else's: 4.54 percent. Every dollar above that is taxed at the higher rate.
Let's say our hypothetical couple makes $500,100. Their added tax will be—get ready for it—$3.46. That's right. If the Invest in Education Act passes, they'll pay three dollars and forty-six cents more than if it fails.
See, the new 8 percent rate is 3.46 percent higher than the current 4.54 percent rate, and 3.46 percent of $100 is $3.46. If the couple buys one less Cafe Latte Grande at Starbucks that year, they'll come out even.
First, the basics. If the Invest in Education Act passes, an individual making more than $250,000 or a couple making more than $500,000 will pay a higher state tax rate than the rest of us. If an individual makes $500,000 or a couple makes $1 million, the tax rate is even higher. The extra taxes go toward funding education.
Arizona's current personal income tax rate is 4.54 percent. It would go up to 8 percent when an individual's income hits $250,000 or a couple's hits $500,000, then 9 percent at $500,000 for an individual or $1 million for a couple.
So what does that mean in terms of money for the one percenters? Let's use a couple for this explanation, just so I don't confuse things by trying to include figures for individuals and couples.
Let's begin with what the tax measure doesn't mean. It doesn't mean a couple making $499,999 pays 4.54 percent on all their income, but add a dollar and they pay 8 percent on the whole $500,000. Uh uh. Not at all. Adding that one dollar doesn't bring a tsunami of new taxes down on their heads. The rate on the first $500,000 is the same as everyone else's: 4.54 percent. Every dollar above that is taxed at the higher rate.
Let's say our hypothetical couple makes $500,100. Their added tax will be—get ready for it—$3.46. That's right. If the Invest in Education Act passes, they'll pay three dollars and forty-six cents more than if it fails.
See, the new 8 percent rate is 3.46 percent higher than the current 4.54 percent rate, and 3.46 percent of $100 is $3.46. If the couple buys one less Cafe Latte Grande at Starbucks that year, they'll come out even.
Tags: Invest in Education Act , Arizona taxes , One percenters , Image
Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, right, grasps the Stanley Cup trophy from Commissioner Gary Bettman after the team's 4-3 win on Thursday, June 7.
A lifetime of figurative gut-punches and premature playoff exits came to an end late Thursday night in Sin City.
I’m talking about the five-game Stanley Cup championship earned by the tough-luck Washington Capitals—who rolled over the Las Vegas Knights in the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Final, four games to one.
It was a night I’d long waited to witness, growing up in the D.C. suburbs to a mother born at George Washington Hospital, mere steps from Capitol Hill.
It was a night to shed two-plus decades of playoff scar tissue, after a seemingly endless reign of playoff failure—including three-straight defeats at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the playoffs.
This year was different, thanks to a cast of Capitals players that many couldn’t ID with a gun pressed against their temples.
It was the exploits of castaways, like Devante Smith-Pelly—a 25-year-old journeyman forward who was cut by the Montreal Canadians and New Jersey Devils in successive seasons.
Smith-Pelly dazzled this postseason, scoring as many goals (7) in 24 playoff games as he did in 75 regular season contests.
The Ontario native capped off his remarkable postseason with a highlight reel goal in the third period of Thursday’s slugfest—shimmying past a Knights’ defender to get a net-rippling shot past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
That goal, which tied the game at 3, gave the Capitals the energy they needed to launch a late-game offensive.
The franchise-changing tally came some three minutes later, when 29-year-old Danish forward Lars Eller was gifted a scoring chance that he’ll never forget.
The chance, which wound up being the straw that broke the Knights back, involved a shot by teammate Brett Connolly, which Fleury stopped.
That shot somehow squirmed past the veteran goalie’s pads, resting behind him—mere feet away from Eller.
Tags: Alex Ovechkin , Washington Capitals , Barry Trotz , Washington D.C. , Las Vegas Knights , T-Mobile Arena , NHL , NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs , Capital One Arena , Marc-Andre Fleury , Devante Smith-Pelly , Lars Eller , Nick Backstrom , Image
Thursday, June 7, 2018
Man, whenever a college professor would announce a Chekov play was on the agenda for required reading, I would roll my eyes and yawn. My younger self always found his stuff ponderous and pretentious, enough so that I’ve tried to avoid it for decades. Lo and behold, maybe Mr. Chekov was on to something, because this adaptation of his play into a movie starring Annette Bening and Saoirse Ronan actually seems extremely relevant in these days of celebrity and social networking. Bening plays Irina, an early 20th century actress who goes to visit her dying brother (Hey, look, it’s Brian Dennehy) and angry son Konstantin (Billy Howle), an aspiring playwright hopelessly in love with young actress Nina (Ronan). Shortly after her arrival, the action flashes back a couple of years to equally unhappy times during another Irina visit, one where Konstantin attempts suicide after Nina shows interest in Irina’s lover, Boris (Corey Stoll), another, more famous playwright. Considering when this was all originally written, the story is amazingly accurate in its portrayal of modern day celebrity competition at the expense of healthy relationships and, well, acting like a decent human being in general. Almost everybody in this movie behaves selfishly, and that behavior results in tragedy. Bening, Ronan and Dennehy are great, while Howle slows things up a bit. Hey, director Michael Mayer got me to relatively enjoy something with the name Chekov attached to it. I consider that a major accomplishment.
The Seagull opens at the Loft Cinema on Friday, June 8.
“I don't think you can make an unfunny person funny,” says Kathleen Madigan. She’s responding to notion that she’s a natural comedian. Her comedic storytelling style belies her heritage; it’s akin to the Celtic oral tradition of blarney, a colorful twist of truth and fiction, structured and paced for maximum side-splitting. Her gift is a keen eye for the ridiculous in everyday life.
Asked how her comedy has evolved since her first open mic at age 23, she says “I haven’t changed in 30 years. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I was never really dirty. I've never done celebrity gossip. I'm most apt to talk about travelling and silly stuff and my family,” Madigan says. Her steady flow of fresh, true-ish tales turns out a growing audience for her TV and Netflix specials and 250 tour dates year after year. “It is a lot but it's still a lot of fun, so I guess when it's not any more I'll just stop.”
She’s performed on nearly every standup show ever made, and has done three Comedy Central specials, Madigan has no interest in scripted television series’ or movies. “I don't like the waiting around,” she says. “I don't like having all those coworkers and bosses. I just want to be my own boss.”
She's won the American Comedy Award for "Best Female Comedian" and the Phyllis Diller award for "Best Female Comedian." She remains the only comedian in the history of NBC's Last Comic Standing to go unchallenged by any other comedian; no comedian would say they were funnier. And she’s repeatedly voted an audience favorite by Sirius FM listeners.
Asked what current comedians are bubbling under big careers, she suggests Dusty Slay, Raanan Hershberg and Bryan Hamilton, all of whom she deems naturally funny. “I think you can sing or you can't. Comedy is sort of the same thing.” But she holds out hope for the multitudes of hopefuls. “If you do have it, you go practice it and you get better and better. But if you don't have it, people can keep trying and have fun with it. As long as you're not getting paid to be funny, it doesn't matter.”
Madigan performs at the Rialto Theatre at 8 p.m., Thursday, June 14. Tickets for the all-ages show are $26 to $42, available via rialtotheatre.com. She says she is looking forward to playing the Pop A Shot in the green room.
Asked how her comedy has evolved since her first open mic at age 23, she says “I haven’t changed in 30 years. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I was never really dirty. I've never done celebrity gossip. I'm most apt to talk about travelling and silly stuff and my family,” Madigan says. Her steady flow of fresh, true-ish tales turns out a growing audience for her TV and Netflix specials and 250 tour dates year after year. “It is a lot but it's still a lot of fun, so I guess when it's not any more I'll just stop.”
She’s performed on nearly every standup show ever made, and has done three Comedy Central specials, Madigan has no interest in scripted television series’ or movies. “I don't like the waiting around,” she says. “I don't like having all those coworkers and bosses. I just want to be my own boss.”
She's won the American Comedy Award for "Best Female Comedian" and the Phyllis Diller award for "Best Female Comedian." She remains the only comedian in the history of NBC's Last Comic Standing to go unchallenged by any other comedian; no comedian would say they were funnier. And she’s repeatedly voted an audience favorite by Sirius FM listeners.
Asked what current comedians are bubbling under big careers, she suggests Dusty Slay, Raanan Hershberg and Bryan Hamilton, all of whom she deems naturally funny. “I think you can sing or you can't. Comedy is sort of the same thing.” But she holds out hope for the multitudes of hopefuls. “If you do have it, you go practice it and you get better and better. But if you don't have it, people can keep trying and have fun with it. As long as you're not getting paid to be funny, it doesn't matter.”
Madigan performs at the Rialto Theatre at 8 p.m., Thursday, June 14. Tickets for the all-ages show are $26 to $42, available via rialtotheatre.com. She says she is looking forward to playing the Pop A Shot in the green room.
Tags: Kathleen Madigan , Rialto Theatre , Pop A Shot , Image
Discuss.
Tags: Donald Trump , Democracy , Image
Your Weekly guide to keeping busy in the Old Pueblo.
Summer Sizzlers–Cool Hot Jazz for the Summer. Here come the Dixie Cats, the swinging jazz group that’s known for playing the tunes of old NOLA. Their show “A Brief History of Jazz” will play tunes all the way from late 19th-century ragtime to late 20th-century big band swing and trad-jazz. This is the first in the St. Philip’s in the Hills Friends of Music summer concert series, so if you enjoy this, you can look forward to Grupo Riken, the Puerto Rican/Latin Jazz group, playing in July. 2 p.m. Sunday, June 10. St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, 4440 N. Campbell Ave. Suggested admission is $15. Students with ID admitted at no charge.
1812 Overture by the Tucson Pops Orchestra. June is upon us, so it’s only natural that, thanks to the Tucson Pops Orchestra, tunes are upon us as well. At this evening event in the park, you’ll hear music from Miss Saigon, a Tchaikovsky piece, “America the Beautiful,” and, in the young conductors’ portion, even “La Bamba.” Grab your blanket or folding chair—heck, bring a picnic if you want—and settle in for an evening of music. 7 p.m. Sunday, June 10. DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center at Reid Park, 900 S. Randolph Way. Free.
Music
Celebrating the Spectrum 2018. Desert Voices, Tucson’s premier gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and ally chorus, is all about the idea that anyone can sing. And not just anyone on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Anyone, regardless of creed, age, background, age, race or pizza topping preference. (Even anchovy lovers are welcome here.) For this event, Desert Voices is hosting GALA choruses from throughout Southern Arizona and Southern California to celebrate equality, diversity and the unity found in love of music. 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 10. Arizona Theatre Company, Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. $25 door, $20 advance, $15 student.
Summer Sizzlers–Cool Hot Jazz for the Summer. Here come the Dixie Cats, the swinging jazz group that’s known for playing the tunes of old NOLA. Their show “A Brief History of Jazz” will play tunes all the way from late 19th-century ragtime to late 20th-century big band swing and trad-jazz. This is the first in the St. Philip’s in the Hills Friends of Music summer concert series, so if you enjoy this, you can look forward to Grupo Riken, the Puerto Rican/Latin Jazz group, playing in July. 2 p.m. Sunday, June 10. St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, 4440 N. Campbell Ave. Suggested admission is $15. Students with ID admitted at no charge.
1812 Overture by the Tucson Pops Orchestra. June is upon us, so it’s only natural that, thanks to the Tucson Pops Orchestra, tunes are upon us as well. At this evening event in the park, you’ll hear music from Miss Saigon, a Tchaikovsky piece, “America the Beautiful,” and, in the young conductors’ portion, even “La Bamba.” Grab your blanket or folding chair—heck, bring a picnic if you want—and settle in for an evening of music. 7 p.m. Sunday, June 10. DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center at Reid Park, 900 S. Randolph Way. Free.
Art
Etherton Gallery’s Summer Exhibitions. No matter what kind of art you like, you’ll want to make it a point to head to Etherton this summer. Their photography exhibition, “From the Archive: Masters of 20th Century Photography,” showcases work by American modernist photographers like Ansel Adams, Robert Frank, Annie Leibovitz and Eugene Smith. Hand-colored bird and flower photography by Tucson artist Kate Breakey will be on display in the pop-up gallery. And they’ve also partnered with The Skateroom to display editioned artwork on skateboards (designed to be hung on the wall, but could be used for skating as well) by artists such as Andy Warhol, Shepard Fairey and Ai Wei Wei. A portion of gallery sales of the skateboards will go into a fund for Cushing Street Skate Park, a needed covered skate park for Tucson youth. On display through the end of August. Opening reception 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 9. Etherton Gallery, 135 S. Sixth Ave. Free.
Tags: art , music , food , summer , entertainment , celebration , second saturday , second sunday , first thursday , Image
Friday, June 1, 2018
The Stonewall Series
Saturday, June 2 (2–4 pm, Joel D. Valdez Main Library)
Fenton Johnson presents "The Future of Queer: A Manifesto"
Wednesday, June 20 (6–8 pm, Murphy-Wilmot Library)
Bill Konigsberg presents "Is Cis Gay White the New Straight"
Saturday, June 30 (2–4 pm, Woods Memorial Library)
Rachell Mindell presents "Bi is Not a Bad Word"
Rainbow Reads: A Positively Queer Reading Circle
Alternating between book chats and book clubs, this reading circle is held on the 3rd Sunday of the month at Exo Roast Co.
The next book club will be held on June 17. The book selection is Virginia Woolf's Orlando.
Rainbow Storytime
Wednesday, June 6 (11–11:45, Woods Memorial Library)
Thursday, June 7 (10–10:45, Santa Rosa Library)
Friday, June 22 (10:30–11:15, Sahuarita Library)
For more information, visit the Library's website or call Infoline at (520) 791-4010.
Tags: Pima County Public Library , LGBTQ+ Services Committee , Stonewall Series , Rainbow Storytime , Rainbow Reads , Image
"When Trump dog-whistled about globalists, I didn't realize he was talking about Jews until after the election." "The monstrous nature of the Jewish people must be known to the public." “I propose a government that makes counter-Semitism central to all aims of the state."
Patrick Little, Republican, California, running for U.S. Senate. His campaign poster: END JEWISH SUPREMACY OVER U.S. POLITICS & SOCIETY.
"I consider myself a white racialist." "Six million Jews [killed in the Holocaust]? Ridiculous!"
Arthur Jones, Republican, Illinois, former member of the American Nazi Party, ran in an uncontested primary for Congress in Chicago, received 20,000 votes.
"It's not because we're racists. It's because we feel marginalized. We're the ones who are being oppressed."
Arthur Jones supporter
“Armed machine gun turrets every 300 yards [on the border]. And you can automate those. Anyone who approaches that barrier will be treated as an enemy combatant. Man, woman or child.” "Jews…commit a disproportionate number of mass shootings.”
Paul Nehlen, Republican, Wisconsin, running for a congressional seat.
Called Virginia Democratic and Republican candidates for governor "cuck" and "cuckservative." ("Cuck" is short for "cuckhold." In alt right parlance, it refers to a white man who watches his wife having sex with a black man.)
Corey Stewart, Republican, Virginia, running for governor. He came within one percentage point of winning the Republican primary against Ed Gillespie by devoting his campaign to defending Confederate monuments.
Patrick Little, Republican, California, running for U.S. Senate. His campaign poster: END JEWISH SUPREMACY OVER U.S. POLITICS & SOCIETY.
"I consider myself a white racialist." "Six million Jews [killed in the Holocaust]? Ridiculous!"
Arthur Jones, Republican, Illinois, former member of the American Nazi Party, ran in an uncontested primary for Congress in Chicago, received 20,000 votes.
"It's not because we're racists. It's because we feel marginalized. We're the ones who are being oppressed."
Arthur Jones supporter
“Armed machine gun turrets every 300 yards [on the border]. And you can automate those. Anyone who approaches that barrier will be treated as an enemy combatant. Man, woman or child.” "Jews…commit a disproportionate number of mass shootings.”
Paul Nehlen, Republican, Wisconsin, running for a congressional seat.
Called Virginia Democratic and Republican candidates for governor "cuck" and "cuckservative." ("Cuck" is short for "cuckhold." In alt right parlance, it refers to a white man who watches his wife having sex with a black man.)
Corey Stewart, Republican, Virginia, running for governor. He came within one percentage point of winning the Republican primary against Ed Gillespie by devoting his campaign to defending Confederate monuments.
Tags: Antisemitism , Racism , Patrick Little , Arthur Jones , Paul Nehlen , Donald Trump , Image
