Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Tags: comics , politics , cartoons , Claytoonz , Donald Trump Jr , president , son , testimony , jeopardy , Image
Southern Arizona Senior Pride Book Club. If you've been keeping up with this group's book list (which you should—they pick great books), you know they already read Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, a memoir about the author's relationship with her father. For this month's meeting, they're reading Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama by Alison Bechdel, a book about the author's relationship with her mother. We all have warped, complicated relationships with our mothers. Why not read some really eloquent, hilarious writing about the subject and talk about it with a group? 2 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 15. Ward 3 Council Office conference room, 1510 E. Grant Road. Free. Details here.
On the Desert: An Exploration of Fibers. Fiber is an interesting word: You can use it to talk about a specific kind of nutrient, about the cloth that makes up your clothes or your bedspread, or to make dramatic statements about using every fiber of your being. From hand-crafted to industrially machined, fiber is everywhere. This exhibit explores the weaving, soaking, staining, stitching, painting, knitting, collaging, cutting, pressing, sewing and more of traditional and experimental fibers in the Southwest desert. Head over to Tohono Chul to enjoy a Fiber Friday or Woven Wednesday. Exhibit on display through the end of July. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at the Tohono Chul Exhibit House, 7366 Paseo del Norte. $13 adults, $10 military/student/senior, $3 for kids 5 to 12, free for members and kids under 5. Details here.
Events compiled by Tirion Morris, Emily Dieckman, B.S. Eliot and Jeff Gardner.
Tags: things to do , fun in general , events , happenings , Tucson , Wednesday , May 15 , Image , Video
They are a little folk, a little country with a Southwestern tan: Eric Schaffer & the Other Troublemakers with JD Loveland & Friendsare at Monterey Court. Details here.
San Francisco doom metalists Castle continue to push the envelope as they await the Flash of the Pentagram. With the power/violence/crust punk of Dayak and Napalm Strike at Club Congress. Details here.
Tags: music , where to rock , shows , concerts , bands , Tucson , Wednesday , May 15 , Image
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
I don't know which state senator, or senators, stuck a half million dollar request for a new "Freedom School" at Northern Arizona University into the Republican senators' budget proposal. But someone did.
UA and ASU both have versions of the Koch brothers' libertarian outpost on their campuses, but Flagstaff's NAU is currently Freedom-School free. That could change, however, if the proposed funding makes it into the budget.
Don't mistake the request for extra money for a new Freedom School as a Republican change of heart when it comes to funding education. The same budget proposal cuts millions from Ducey's proposed university and K-12 budgets.
I've written often about UA's Freedom Center and less often about its ideological sibling, ASU's School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership. Both received lots of money from members of the Koch donor network when they started out. FC became a state budget item in 2014, and SCETL's state funding began in 2017. The current budget includes $3.5 million for FC and $4 million for SCETL. Both centers will likely get the same funding in the upcoming budget.
As for that modest half million dollar funding request for the proposed NAU Freedom School. The small figure is a ruse, a way to get the thing up and running with as little controversy as possible. After all, what's a half million budget request between friends? The UA Freedom Center began the same way, with a half million state budget for its first three years. Now FC's annual budget is seven times that original figure.
Here are a few interesting and unusual facts about the funding for FC and SCETL.
• They are the only university "schools" or departments with their own line items in the state budget.I expect the same deal will hold for the NAU outpost if it's approved.
• Neither school has been able to spend all the money it gets from the state.
• The schools don't have to return what they don't spend. At the end of the year, they just stick the surplus in the bank, to be used at some later time.
Tags: Northern Arizona University , Arizona senate , Freedom School , Koch donor network , Freedom Center , School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership , Doug Ducey , Arizona budget , Image
Gov. Doug Ducey has signed House Bill 2570 into law, creating the first state-sponsored study to gather comprehensive data on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Arizona and identify causes of the systemic violence.
These cases, known as MMIWG cases, have historically received limited attention and improper classification. The only national study devoted to the subject—which was published by the Urban Indian Health Institute in Seattle last year—acknowledges that even their data for the number of Indigenous women and girls who have gone missing or have been murdered is likely an undercount.
They reported that in 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, though the U.S. Department of Justice's federal missing persons database, NamUs, only logged 116 cases. Arizona was ranked the third most dangerous state for Indigenous women with 54 cases, and Tucson was the fourth most dangerous city in the country with 30 recorded murders.
Activists have pointed to a lack of collaboration between local, state and tribal law enforcement officials and the misclassification of victims' ethnicity and tribal affiliations as the reason for the lack of accurate data.
The new law, introduced by Democratic Rep. Jennifer Jermaine, allows a study committee to be formed, with representation from seven Arizona tribes. The committee will include all members of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus, the Arizona attorney general or their designee, the director of the Department of Public Safety or their designee, attorneys and sheriffs from urban and rural counties, representatives from tribal government and law enforcement, victims advocates, social workers, counselors and legal and health service experts.
Once the study is completed in June 2020, the findings will be presented to tribal leadership and the state legislature. This could provide a framework for better policies to be enacted that would protect Indigenous women from targeted violence.
Gov. Ducey posted a tweet celebrating the passage of the bill this morning:
The crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls must be addressed. Proud to sign #HB2570 to provide better data and information that will help inform our actions going forward #MMNWG #MMIW
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) May 14, 2019
Tags: MMIWG , Missing Murdered Indigenous Women Girls , Ducey , HB2570 , Legislature , Jermaine , Indivisible Tohono , Image
“I am a sweet 6-year-old girl who loves treats and toy feathers. In the past I have done well with cats but would prefer a home without dogs.”
- Callie
Bring your family to meet Callie at HSSA Main Campus at 635 W. Roger Rd. For more information give an adoptions counselor a call at 520-327-6088, ext. 173.
Tags: pets , animals , adoptable cat , Callie , new best friend , cats , HSSA , Humane Society , adopt , Image
Tags: comics , politics , cartoons , Claytoonz , vaccinations , anti-vaxxer , diseases , protection , gun control , Image
Live at Lunchtime in Jácome Plaza. Do you always see our weekday events and feel sad you can't attend because you're at work? Well, for those of you who work downtown, here's one for you! Ditch your sad desk salad and head to Jácome Plaza for some fresh air and free summertime tunes. Today, Jamie O'Brien will provide the live music from noon to 1:30 p.m. 101 N. Stone Avenue. Free. Details here.
Spelling Bee[r] at T&B Downtown. With the advent of spell check, spelling is a skill that's gone the way of cursive handwriting. So, if you are really great with putting letters in the correct order, here is your chance to show off! Tap & Bottle downtown is hosting a Spelling Bee[r] competition complete with a giant trophy, gift certificates and even gifts for the losers! What's not to love. Sign-up starts at 6:30 p.m. and the spelling bee starts at 7 p.m. 403 N 6th Ave #135. Details here.
Events compiled by Tirion Morris, Emily Dieckman, B.S. Eliot and Jeff Gardner.
Tags: things to do , do this , fun in general , events , Tucson , local , happenings , Tuesday , May 14 , Image
This is an album marked by tragedy: The death of mentors Leon Russell, Truck's uncle Butch (founding member of the Allman Brothers) and guitarist Col. Bruce Hampton, who died after collapsing on stage at a benefit concert in Atlanta. Susan Tedeschi's soulful vocals and Derek Trucks impassioned guitar work transform grief into that which can "Strengthen What Remains." Tedeschi Trucks Band play the Tucson Music Hall. Details here.
So hey, "Where Did You Go?" Experimental psychedelic rockers Weeed enter the infinite and open the doors of perception. At Club Congress. Kryge and Tambourinen rein it all in. Details here.
Tags: music , where to rock , things to do , Hotel Congress , Tucson Music Hall , 191 Toole , concerts , shows , musicians , bands , Image
Monday, May 13, 2019
Online previews are currently available for the 75-piece “Robert Shelton ‘Old Tucson Collection’” as part of a 600-piece Hollywood Auction run by RR Auction. Highlights of the selection include a rifle gifted to Shelton by John Wayne, a collection of Old Tucson film scripts, and multiple wardrobe and set pieces. Estimated auction prices of these items run from $200 to $8,000.
Bidding begins Friday, May 17 and ends Thursday, May 23.
Originally a country club developer, in 1959 Shelton leased the Old Tucson property from Pima County and began to restore the facility originally built by Columbia Pictures in 1939 for the movie Arizona. Shelton was involved with Old Tucson production for decades, working when classic Westerns such as Gunfight at the OK Corral, Cimarron, and Rio Lobo were filmed at the studios.
The props are especially rare considering they survived the 1995 fire that destroyed much of the Old Tucson studios.
RR Auction worked with Shelton's widow, Carolyn Olson Shelton, to properly place "these rare relics in the hands of people who will treasure them."
For more information and to see the collection, visit RR Auction’s website.
Tags: Old Tucson , props , auction , Robert Shelton , Gunfight at the OK Corral , Cimarron , Rio Lobo , John Wayne , Western , movies , Image
