• Jim Nintzel

The Tucson Padres opened the season by getting shut out by the Fresno Grizzlies. A tough first game! The ball clubs meet again tonight at Kino Stadium at 7:05 p.m.

Details from the Padres' Tim Hagerty:

The Tucson Padres were shut out on Opening Night, falling to the Fresno Grizzlies, 3-0 Thursday at Kino Stadium. The Padres had multiple scoring opportunities, with at least one baserunner in seven of their nine innings. The T-Pads left 11 runners on base.

Fresno's Charlie Culberson hit an RBI single in the first inning and the 1-0 lead stayed until the sixth, when Joaquin Arias hit a two-out, two-run single for Fresno. The Padres threatened in the ninth inning, bringing the tying run to the plate, but first basemen Todd Linden made a lunging play on Blake Tekotte's ground ball to end the game.

Tucson starter Joe Wieland struck out seven Grizzlies in his Triple-A debut and allowed three runs on eight hits. The Padres bullpen was strong Thursday, with Cory Burns, Alex Hinshaw and Colt Hynes pitching scoreless outings.

Next Game: Friday, 7:05 pm at Kino Stadium - Fresno LHP Brian Burres (0-0, -.—) vs. Tucson RHP Casey Kelly (0-0, -.—). The first 1,000 kids, ages 16 and under, receive a free Everth Cabrera or Kyle Blanks bobblehead. The game broadcast is live on Tejano 1600 AM at 6:55 pm.

Eric Swedlund inteviews the members of Megafaun, who will be among the acts at this weekend's Festival en el Barrio:

Megafaun began after the breakup of DeYarmond Edison, formed in Eau Claire, Wis., and including Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Chris Porterfield. Porterfield's first album as Field Report will be released later this year.

Westerlund and brothers Brad (bass, guitar) and Phil (keyboards, banjo) Cook share songwriting and singing duties, and over the course of three albums and an EP, they have shown they're adaptable to everything from spare folk to psychedelic freakouts, turning sometimes to horns and even classic 1960s pop. Comparisons to the Grateful Dead and contemporaries like Akron/Family might get close to describing the band's sound, but any singular comparison will fall short.

"We're just interested in so many different styles of music. ... It's just part of who we are. I don't think we can change that," Westerlund says. "Having that background of music education in general, and having the jazz influence has enabled us to go that many more places in our arrangements. But I think more than anything, it's a state of mind for us. We love improvisation. That's the greatest thing we've taken from listening to a lot of jazz and absorbing a lot of jazz."

You're really not gonna want to stay home this Saturday when you can be having fun in the heart of the city, are you? Get your tickets here.

Every year, we put out our gigantic Best of Tucson® issue and every year, the complaints start rolling in. "How did Jon Justice win Best Talk Show Host?" "My favorite restaurant is better than [fill in the blank]!" "Seriously, Jon Justice?"

Well, since most of the awards are based on reader voting and reader voting alone, now is the time for your voice to be heard. The ballot is online for Best of Tucson® 2012 and until May 30th, we'll be collecting the opinions of our readers. Has your favorite establishment remained shamefully overlooked? Post a link to the ballot on your Facebook page. Shout it out on Twitter. You only have yourselves to blame/congratulate, Tucson.

• Samantha Sais

It's opening night for the Tucson Padres! Why not get out to the ballpark to start the season off right?

We've got a Q&A with Padres general manager Mike Feder that will fill you in on all the details in this week's print edition, but the first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Kino Stadium. And it's a Thirsty Thursday, so beers will cost you just $1.50.

More details here.

Tucson, it’s time to turn the lights off.

As part of the World Wildlife Fund’s global “Earth Hour Celebration,” Tucson was chosen to star in the annual event aimed at supporting climate change. To do this, city officials will switch off Tucson’s City Hall lights on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. for one hour. The celebration will take place in El Presidio Park.

“We have been very impressed by how the city of Tucson has been looking squarely at these problems and starting to think through solutions,” wrote Matt Farrauto in an email interview. Farrauto is with the WWF. “It’s really impressive that the city is going the extra mile to make sure that citizens have an opportunity to learn what they have discovered about the local impacts of climate change in Tucson.”

With opening day just a week away, we talked with Tucson Padres General Manager Mike Feder about the upcoming AAA Baseball club's season. He's excited about a lot of things, but he made a point of mentioned that this year's Thirsty Thursdays (co-sponsored by your friends here at Tucson Weekly) will feature this astounding technology of Bottoms Up beer.

"The beer pours from the bottom and it pours a virtually perfect 16-oz. beer," Feder says. "The beauty of it is, you can do 40 or 50 beers a minute."

Here's the upside: The cups are 16 ounces, so you're getting more beer per cup. Minor downside: Thirsty Thursday beers will be $1.50 instead of a buck, but with the larger serving, you won't need to go back as often and lines will be shorter, so quit your complaining.

Opening night is Thursday, April 5. Details here!

Joey Burns of Calexico—the local indie-rock collective which is wrapping up a new album over at Wavelab Studios these days—stopped by Arizona Illustrated last night to talk about the upcoming Festival en el Barrio, which is moving this year to the streets of El Presidio Neighborhood, which falls inside the birthplace of Tucson way back when the Spanish first built a fort here.

We named the Festival en el Barrio our Best New Festival last year because it's an amazing afternoon in downtown. Calexico will headline the show, but there's lots more on the bill, including Megafaun, Sergio Mendoza y la Orkesta and Grupo Fantasma. You'll be able to dine at the food trucks and your ticket gets you free admission to the Tucson Museum of Art. On top of all that, the festival benefits KXCI, which is one of the best non-profits we can think of in this dusty cowtown.

So get a ticket today, why don't you?

There's still time to register for the first annual event, "Let's Get Better Together: A Quality Look at Behavioral Health Care in Arizona."

The April 6 forum at Sheraton Tucson Hotels and Suites will discuss building a health care system for those who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Queer, according to a press release from the Community Partnership of Southern Arizona.

Also in the press release:

According to Healthy People 2020, research suggests that LGBT individuals face health disparities linked to social stigma, discrimination and denial of their civil and human rights. Discrimination against LGBT persons has been associated with high rates of psychiatric disorders, substance abuse and suicide.

The event will feature keynote speaker, Susan Stryker, who is the director of the UA's LGBTQ institute.

March 31 is the last day to register for the April 6 event.

The Arizona Capitol Road Show makes a stop in Tucson at the Arizona Daily Star's half-empty compound offices on Friday, offering an opportunity to learn about Arizona's legislative process from political figures, lobbyists, consultants, and journalists. Should be an interesting morning of events, it's free, and you'll get the priceless opportunity to snicker and roll your eyes in person at the opinions of two Tucson Weekly contributors (Hank Stephenson, whose work regularly appears in our paper and online, and some guy who works on the internet or something).

For more information, or to sign up, go to the event's website.

If you care much about the astronomy industry in Arizona, you should give Gov. Jan Brewer a call and urge her to veto a bill allowing electronic billboards with glowing lights along Arizona highways.

And you should care about the astronomy industry, because space and planetary research is worth $250 million a year to the state. Plus, it's way cool to be part of the space program.

And if there's a big threat to the industry, it's light pollution, which is why astronomers spend a lot of time fighting to reduce or mitigate outdoor lighting.

House Bill 2757, which is a gigantic giveaway to the billboard lobby, would allow billboards to flash electronic messages into our dark skies. It passed the Senate on a 20-8 vote last week and is headed for Brewer’s desk.

Let’s not let this one go through without a fight. Dial the governor, toll-free, at 1-800-253-0883, and tell her to veto HB 2757.