Tucson Weekly Feb 24, 2022

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Big Lie Legislation

A slate of new election laws sweeps Arizona in response to ‘voter fraud’ conspiracy theories

By Jake Dean and Gloria Gomez MUSIC: An Electric New Album from Birds and Arrows

DANEHY: RIP, P.J. O’Rourke

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FEBRUARY 24, 2022

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | VOL. 37, NO. 8

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STAFF

CONTENTS

CURRENTS

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Bill approved in legislative committee would do away with ballot-counting machines

CURRENTS

Community hope grows at JB Wright Elementary Garden

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CITY WEEK

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Music, theatre, classes and more events to fill your week

MUSIC

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ADMINISTRATION Steve T. Strickbine, Publisher Michael Hiatt, Vice President

EDITOR’S NOTE

Jaime Hood, General Manager, jaime@tucsonlocalmedia.com

Suppression Session

YOU KNOW THOSE STORIES ABOUT volunteer firefighters who start blazes so they can be the heroes who put them out? That’s what the current legislative efforts to “reform” our election laws feel like to me. Following the lead of Donald Trump, the one-term president who lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden, way too many Republicans are claiming fraud and cheating with zero evidence to back those allegations up. Those who claim the election was stolen lost their cases in the courts across the country, including Arizona. So instead they invent narratives about Sharpies and truckloads of secret ballots and Italian vote-switching satellites and blah blah blah.

It’s honestly disturbing to see how many of our fellow citizens believe in the lies peddled by pillow salesmen, horned loons and other cheapjack hustlers. And it’s even more disturbing that these falsehoods are being used to justify dozens and dozens of bills here in Arizona that would make it harder for people to cast ballots. GOP lawmakers want to do away with everything from early voting—used by more than eight out of every 10 voters in Arizona—to tabulation machines that count the votes. (And that bit of legislation, sponsored by wackadoodle state Sen. Wendy Rogers, also calls for all ballots to be tallied within 24 hours—as if such a thing was even remotely possible.)

Tyler Vondrak, Associate Publisher, tyler@tucsonlocalmedia.com Claudine Sowards, Accounting, claudine@tucsonlocalmedia.com

This week’s cover package digs into the voter-suppression efforts at the Capitol. Gloria Gomez, the UA School of Journalism Don Bolles fellow, looks at Rogers’ nutty legislation, while contributor Jake Dean surveys the absurdity of some of the bills that are being proposed. At the end of the day, GOP lawmakers are trying to make it harder to vote because they fear losing power because—let’s face it—their assaults on public education, abortion rights and voting procedures put them out of step with the majority of Arizonans, as does their pathetic supplication to Trump. And while most of the bills aren’t going anywhere, they may well succeed with some of them—and even if they don’t, they have definitely succeeded in sowing distrust with democracy itself. It’s the modern GOP way: If they can’t control an aspect of government, they will burn it all down.

There’s plenty more in the book, but I’ve run out of space, so you’re gonna have to find out all about the old-fashioned way: By reading through our pages. Enjoy!

Jim Nintzel Executive Editor Hear Nintz talk about how to have some fun in this town at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday mornings during the world-famous Frank Show on KLPX, 96.1 FM.

RANDOM SHOTS By Rand Carlson

Sheryl Kocher, Receptionist, sheryl@tucsonlocalmedia.com EDITORIAL Jim Nintzel, Executive Editor, jimn@tucsonlocalmedia.com Jeff Gardner, Managing Editor, jeff@tucsonlocalmedia.com Alexandra Pere, Staff Reporter, apere@timespublications.com Nicole Feltman, Staff Reporter, nfeltman@timespublications.com Contributors: David Abbott, Rob Brezsny, Max Cannon, Rand Carlson, Tom Danehy, Emily Dieckman, Bob Grimm, Andy Mosier, Linda Ray, Margaret Regan, Will Shortz, Jen Sorensen, Clay Jones, Dan Savage PRODUCTION Courtney Oldham, Production Manager, tucsonproduction@timespublications.com Ryan Dyson, Graphic Designer, ryand@tucsonlocalmedia.com CIRCULATION Alex Carrasco, Circulation, alexc@tucsonlocalmedia.com ADVERTISING TLMSales@TucsonLocalMedia.com Gary Tackett, Account Executive, gtackett@tucsonlocalmedia.com Kristin Chester, Account Executive, kristin@tucsonlocalmedia.com Candace Murray, Account Executive, candace@tucsonlocalmedia.com NATIONAL ADVERTISING Zac Reynolds Director of National Advertising Zac@TimesPublications.com Tucson Weekly® is published every Thursday by Times Media Group at 7225 N. Mona Lisa Rd., Ste. 125, Tucson, Arizona. Address all editorial, business and production correspondence to: Tucson Weekly, 7225 N. Mona Lisa Rd., Ste. 125, Tucson, Arizona 85741. Phone: (520) 797-4384, FAX (520) 575-8891. Member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN). The Tucson Weekly® and Best of Tucson® are registered trademarks of Times Media Group. Publisher has the right to refuse any advertisement at his or her discretion.

Birds and Arrows are previewing their new album at a special Hotel Congress show

TUCSON WEEDLY

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Cannafriends Tucson offers an opportunity for weed enthusiasts to gather and sample products

Cover design by Ryan Dyson

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FEBRUARY 24, 2022

DANEHY

TOM WILL MISS P.J. O’ROURKE, A CONSERVATIVE WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR

By Tom Danehy, tucsoneditor@tucsonlocalmedia.com

SORENSEN

THE FIRST TIME I READ something by P.J. O’Rourke, I found myself laughing out loud. What a rare and delightful experience that is, to stumble across something so well-written and yet, at the same time, so full of that great essence of humanity, humor! I kept on reading and laughing out loud, not caring about whether I was in a room by myself or in a library full of Russian Literature grad students boning up the night before the big Dostoyevsky midterm.

I remember thinking to myself, “My God! A conservative with a sense of humor!” This guy was like a unicorn with a spare unicorn growing out of his butt.

P.J. O’Rourke died last week of complications from lung cancer at the age of 74, no doubt a victim of the omnipresent cigarettes…or the joints…or, later in life, cigars the size of diseased bratwursts. He leaves behind a treasure trove of wit and style with a rightward lean that makes it all the more unique and worthy of our attention.

Like H.L. Mencken, in whose hallowed footsteps he followed, he was the master of acerbic one-liners. To wit (sorry): –Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

–Everybody knows how to raise children, except the people who have them.

–If you think health care is expensive now, just wait until it’s free.

–A hat should be taken off when you greet a lady and left off for the rest of your life.

Nothing looks more stupid than a hat.

–It’s better to spend money like there’s no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there’s no money.”

He wrote in college and later became editor of National Lampoon, which was really funny for a time and then became an unfunny caricature of itself, sort of like what happened to Lenny Bruce and the recently departed Mort Sahl. After quitting the magazine, he became a freelancer and then a semi-regular for Rolling Stone magazine, where he mostly covered absurd foreign happenings.

During one of his foreign travels, he once observed, “Each American embassy comes with two permanent features: a giant anti-American demonstration and a giant line for American visas.”

Also at Rolling Stone, he would do those wonderful year-end wrap-ups, the kind I first came across in Esquire and a tradition

carried on by everyone from Dave Barry to our own Jim Nintzel and Leo Banks. One of my all-time favorites of his observations was “Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Stepanakert, capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region, rioted over much needed spelling reform in the Soviet Union.”

He wrote books and essays and even wrote a movie for Rodney Dangerfield (Easy Money). In his later years, he became a semi-regular on NPR. He said that his “whole purpose in life was to offend everyone who listens to NPR, no matter what position they take on anything.”

The best thing about him was that he took dead aim at the ridiculousness of politics and the pathetic, self-aggrandizing practitioners thereof. He was a conservative with a distinct Libertarian bent, but he said, “The Republicans are the party that says that government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it.”

His words from long ago ring loudly true today. He wrote, “To mistrust science and deny the validity of scientific method is to resign your job as a human. You’d better go look for work as a plant or wild animal.”

Some idiot on the radio said that P.J. O’Rourke’s mantle is now passed to Tucker Carlson. I wanted to wretch. O’Rourke was insightful and intelligent and witty. Carlson is mean and petty and about as funny as a truckload of body parts.

It has been suggested that Carlson has tried to copy O’Rourke’s look (khakis with a blazer), but even that reminds me of an O’Rourke-ism. He once said, “The weirder

you’re going to behave, the more normal you should look. It works in reverse, too. When I see a kid with three or four rings in his nose, I know there is absolutely nothing extraordinary about that person.”

His use of humor and self-deprecation easily set him apart from the pedantry and snottiness of people like Charles Krauthammer and Ann Coulter. In fact, he often went after Coulter’s fake-ass “conservatism.”

Perhaps his finest hour came in 2016 when he absolutely refused to jump on the Trump bandwagon. He eviscerated Trump and openly endorsed Hillary Clinton, whom he called “the second-worst thing that could happen to this country.”

He then added, “She’s wrong about absolutely everything, but she’s wrong within normal parameters.”

As for Donald Trump, he said, “This man just cannot be President. They’ve got this button, you know, in the briefcase. He’s going to find it.”

I have to believe that if he had not been facing death himself, P.J. O’Rourke would have savaged the anti-vaxxers, the Me!-Me!Me! responsibility shirkers, the mask-less morons, and all of their enabling right-wing media liars.

I had always hoped to meet him. I think I would have mentioned that he and I shared the same birthday, perhaps suggesting that there was some kind of kinship there. He would have silenced me by pointing out that it is also the birthday for that philandering wimp, Prince Charles.

RIP, P.J. ■

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

analyzing elections or knowledge of Arizona election law. Logan, like Rogers, was a vocal proponent of election lies that the outcome was affected by rampant fraud, and he worked to persuade Bill approved in legislative committee would do away with ballot-counting machines, U.S. senators to overturn elections in Arizona and other battleground states. convenient voting centers “He said, ‘Senator Rogers, we need to go back to paper ballots, and they need

By Gloria Gomez the Arizona Senate examined ballot tabto be counted by hand,’” she said.

UA Don Bolles Fellow ulators in Maricopa County and found Republicans in Arizona and in state nothing to back up the claim. legislatures across the nation are VOTING WOULD RETURN TO Nonetheless, a state legislator who pushing hundreds of measures to add 19th-century methods—with their glacial has built a nationwide political followbarriers to voting and make it easier for pace and flawed accuracy—and reduce ing by espousing widely debunked lies them to overturn results, often under the voter access under legislation Repubabout the 2020 election says machines guise of stopping the exceedingly rare licans approved in a legislative comdesigned to quickly count ballots more election fraud that they falsely claim is mittee that would ban machines from accurately than humans are likelier to the reason why Democrats won close counting votes, critics said. result in false results because of races in 2018 and 2020.

The proposal is rooted in the Big Lie, a cheating.

Technology has become a staple belief that the 2020 election was “stolen” “This is paper only ballots, this does of American life, said Jen Marson, from Donald Trump. Although there are away with the machines,” Sen. Wendy the executive director of the Arizona various evidence-free theories purport- Rogers, R-Flagstaff, said about her SenAssociation of Counties, which opposes ing to explain how that happened, a ate Bill 1338. the bill.

In this case, technology allows prominent one is that ballot-counting She cited Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug elections to be run more efficiently and machines were rigged to switch votes Logan as the inspiration behind ataccurately. from Trump to Joe Biden. tempting to prohibit any technology “We use technology in our everyday The idea has been tossed out of court use in future elections. The company lives in other very sensitive areas: bankfor a lack of evidence, and a biased directed the so-called “audit” of the 2020 ing, medical records, etcetera,” she said. election review conducted last year by election, despite having no experience

CURRENTS

‘BIG LIE’ LEGISLATION

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Tabulating machines undergo rigorous software and accuracy tests before being used in elections. That includes a hand count to compare machine totals and ensure machines can pass an errorless standard, along with logic and accuracy tests performed both before and after every election. Every machine in Maricopa County is certified by both the state and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Hand counts, meanwhile, have been found to result in error rates of up to 2%, a margin that could sway close elections.

Voting machines have been used in Arizona since 1881, some 30 years before statehood. Returning to hand counting elections would invariably lengthen the time it takes to announce election results and may even be logistically impossible. In 2020, there were close to four million registered voters statewide, and Marson said that number increases every year. She questioned the state’s ability to recruit enough manpower to count the ballots, especially under pressure from Arizonans who want to know the results quickly.

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CURRENTS

TRUST BUSTERS

A slate of new election laws sweeps Arizona in response to ‘voter fraud’ conspiracy theories Logan has dissolved the company and has been facing fines of $50,000 per day since Jan. 6 for failing to turn over records related to the audit. (As of Monday, Feb. 21, the fines STATE SENATE PRESIDENT had climbed to $230,000, although Logan has Karen Fann tried her hardest to overturn made it clear he eventually plans to appeal the legitimate 2020 presidential election in the decision to a higher court.) Logan and Arizona. his former company were also ordered to pay Despite bringing in a host of contraccompensation to watchdog group American tors—including the now infamous Cyber Oversight for forcing them to compel his Ninjas (whose CEO Doug Logan has deposition in court. openly advocated for the “Stop the Steal” However, the assault on legitimate movement)—Fann and election conspiracy elections in Arizona was far from over with theorists failed to produce any legitimate the clownish Maricopa audit. I reported for evidence of widespread fraud. In fact, the Maricopa County elections team rebuked 76 The Weekly back in October and November of the claims made by the audit in a damning on attempts to bring an election audit to Pima County and the democratic dangers of four-hour presentation to the County Board electing far-right Secretary of State candidate of Supervisors.

In the words of the final Maricopa County Mark Finchem. Since the Donald Trump-supported audit of Pima County failed to gain Elections Department report on the topic: “After an in-depth analysis and review of the traction, state Republicans turned to the reports and presentations issued by the Sen- legislature.

During a flurry of election-related legisate’s contractors, we determined that nearly lation, former television anchor and GOP every finding included faulty analysis, inacgubernatorial candidate Kari Lake claimed curate claims, misleading conclusions, and “This election was shady. It was shoddy. It a lack of understanding of federal and state election laws.” The only tangible result of the was corrupt. And the vote was taken from us.”

Except, it was not. The sharpie theory was deaudit? Determining some 50 ballots have been double-counted—hardly the widespread bunked. Both of them, actually. The hacking fraud claimed by Republicans in a state with conspiracy theory was also debunked. Theories that Dominion voting colluded to stop millions of cast ballots. the audit? Debunked. And the theory that It should be noted that House Speaker there were thousands of magically appearing Rusty Bowers did not bow to the mob, as ballots in Maricopa County? You guessed Fann did. Bowers has not only rejected the it, debunked. Do not let Fann, Finchem, and idea that Trump won Arizona, he has dismissed at least some of the so-called election Lake fool you.

Here at The Weekly, we intend to bring reform legislation at the Capitol. For example, you continuing coverage of these legislahe assigned one bill, Rep. John Fillmore’s tive efforts aimed at hampering electoral proposal to allow state lawmakers to reject election results, to every single committee at participation throughout the lead-up to the midterms later this year. And the Legislature the Legislature. This rare procedural move has been busy in 2022, with state lawmakers makes it near impossible for the bill to ever filing more than 100 pieces of election legisreach the House floor. lation including attacks on early voting and In a continuing demonstration of poor jail penalties for election worker missteps. taste, Rep. Fillmore compared this behavior At the end of January, seven bills related to a “lynching.” Speaker Bowers, a fellow to elections passed through committee in the Republican, referred to the bill as unacceptArizona Senate. Some of the less insidious able and called its supporters a “screaming, demanding, arrogant, self-righteous bunch.” proposals include SB 1008, which proposes amending the threshold to trigger an A refreshingly honest take in an era of hyautomatic recount, and SB 1120 (of which per-partisan politics.

Finchem is a co-sponsor) that requires the Cyber Ninjas, which had no experience use of special watermarked ballots in an in auditing elections (and little experience apparent attempt to limit the fraud that was in anything else), has completely collapsed. never found by the Maricopa County audit.

By Jake Dean tucsoneditor@tucsonlocalmedia.com

Of course, recounts require time and money to hold. However, SB 1120 could be even more costly. The bill from Republican Sen. Sonny Borrelli requires nearly 20 security features including holographic foil, watermarks and other features generally reserved for anti-counterfeit currency. Critics of the legislation have noted that there is only one known company even capable of producing the ballots—and of course these ballots come at a far higher cost.

While expensive and entirely unnecessary, frivolous expenditures are nothing compared to several of the other Republican-backed proposals. These include rule changes for residents requiring new proof of citizenship requirements for federal voter registration forms and allowing the Legislature to appoint a designated outside entity for voter roll verification. Or the proposal dubbed SB 1119 (introduced by the likes of Borrelli, Fann and Finchem), which mandates the online publication of electronic ballot images as part of the public record.

While proponents of SB 1119 like Borrelli have argued the ballot images would not tie them to individual voters, Arizona Association of Counties Executive Director Jennifer Marson has expressed several concerns including possible legal liability for counties releasing records, given that some people sign their names or write their addresses on ballots.

Counties are seriously concerned with maintaining voters’ privacy. In January, Marson explained further that “Redaction is tough. Redaction is a whole other ball of wax that’s not really contemplated right now. We don’t want to be in the business of redaction.”

Interestingly, Democrat Adrian Fontes, the former Maricopa County recorder and current candidate for Arizona Secretary of State, has come out in favor of this legislation. In a released statement, Fontes argued that while far-right Republicans believe this will allow them to “find their invisible smoking gun to prove election fraud … it will actually prove once and for all how well our election processes actually work.”

Or take SB 1133 from Sen. Wendy Rogers, which follows in the far-right footstep of Sen. Kelly Townsend, who attempted last year to force early mail-in ballots to be returned in person. SB 1133 puts a blanket prohibition on all-mail balloting for elections in cities, towns and school districts. This despite evidence from leading election experts that vote-bymail options do not increase voter fraud, but do increase voter participation and trust in the electoral process.

Finchem took the game to a whole new level. In early February, he introduced House

PHOTO BY GAGE SKIDMORE

Mark Finchem

Concurrent Resolution 2033, which would decertify the Arizona general election and “reclaim” the state’s presidential electors.

While the legislation is problematic on face value, there is also no process under current law for the legislature to decertify a previously certified election. Speaker Bowers knows that. As he said to reporters, “Mr. Finchem’s obviously unconstitutional and profoundly unwise proposal will receive all of the consideration it deserves.”

While there simply is not enough space in this piece to cover every piece of election-related legislation, the overall takeaway is simple. As Leslie Hoffman, the County Recorder from the Republican stronghold of Yavapai County, explains: “Some of the bills coming through will be all but impossible to administer or implement … It will cost almost twice as much to do an election and then the turnout is very low.”

This avalanche of election proposals will not make Arizona democracy stronger; it will simply drive down turnout and cost taxpayers more money—all in a response to fraud that never existed to begin with. The only reason they could be justified is if there were significant concerns with election integrity in the status quo.

So, I’ll say it once more: There are not.

There is no proof of widespread voter fraud in the Arizona General Election of 2020.

There are also no significant concerns with the past election’s integrity. This is a political ploy to decrease trust in democratic institutions that should have no place in the chambers of our state legislature. To argue otherwise is not just to lie, but to show a disdain for a government by the people.

Sen. Martin Quezada hit this issue on the nose. “Saying that the election was stolen, that’s great for a campaign speech but that’s not reality … it’s our job as members to focus on reality.” ■

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‘BIG LIE’ LEGISLATION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

“We cannot get enough people in many of our counties to conduct the limited hand count that happens post-election. I struggle to believe that we would have enough people to hand count the entire election, and all of the different ballot styles associated with that election, in any kind of timely fashion,” she said.

Some ballots have several dozen contests on them. In addition to the federal and statewide races, they can include ballot propositions, city and county elections, school boards, water and fire districts, judges and more. Which races and contests are on which ballots depend on where a voter lives.

Rogers touted the willingness of residents in her district who would be prepared to help, and would travel across the state to do so.

“There is a hue and a cry in my district for free and fair elections,” she said.

Leaders of the so-called audit said they would hire bipartisan teams to

hand-count the paper ballots, but ended up relying on conservatives after Democrats refused to participate.

Among the bill’s proponents was Teresa Bumguardner, who worked for the Senate’s “audit” and claimed that a return to simplicity was best. The “audit” itself took three months to hand-count 2.1 million ballots, and was plagued by inaccuracy. One review found it actually missed thousands of ballots.

That review only counted votes for two contests on the ballots—president and U.S. Senate.

SB1338 also makes voting less accessible by forcing a return to precinct-level voting. It would bar voting centers, which Republican lawmakers authorized in 2011 to make it easier for people to vote in person on Election Day. In precinct-only voting, voters can only cast a ballot at their neighborhood polling place; if they attempt to vote at another polling location, their ballots are not counted. Voting centers allow any voter in the county to cast a ballot.

After a voter’s eligibility is verified, a ballot is printed on-site.

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an all-voting center model in 2020, following the lead of rural counties like Yavapai, which were early adopters.

Last week, Pima County approved using voting centers in its upcoming elections.

Maricopa County currently has 748 voting precincts for more than 2.5 million registered voters, some larger than 10,000 voters.

Jodi Liggett, lobbyist for the League of Women Voters of Arizona, said that getting rid of voting centers would be detrimental for voters.

“Vote centers are convenient and effective, reducing confusion on Election Day,” she said, “Eliminating (them) harms rural and tribal communities.”

There are 22 tribes and 20 tribal reservations in Arizona, and many of them stretch across counties. The largest one is the Navajo Nation, which spans three counties, each one with different voting practices. Often, street addresses aren’t used in tribal or rural areas, but precinct voting requires them.

Vote centers are not only more inclusive, but they also increase voter turnout because of their convenience.

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Their cumulative nature reduces the number of locations needed and effectively lowers costs by requiring fewer employees to run.

The bill was approved by the Republican majority in the Senate Government Committee and awaits consideration by the full Senate.

Committee Chairwoman Kelly Townsend, R-Apache Junction, said that a return to the voting practices of “our parents” would improve the system.

“We’re just reverting back to the way they did it prior to all this technology and it was smaller precincts, and the precinct workers counted (the ballots) there,” she said. ■ Gloria Gomez is a senior at the University of Arizona and the 2022 UA School of Journalism’s Don Bolles Fellow. The UA School of Journalism started the fellowship in 1977 to honor Don Bolles, an Arizona Republic reporter killed in a 1976 car bombing. This article originally appeared in the Arizona Mirror, an online nonprofit news agency.

Find more at azmirror.com

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CURRENTS

COURTESY PHOTO

PLANTING SEEDS

Community hope grows at JB Wright Elementary garden Unified School District.

In 2010, Marin launched the school’s STEM program with a small garden.

Students were able to plant seeds, observe WITH MORE THAN 26 LANGUAGES, the growth and develop basic gardening skills. cultures, and a large refugee populaHowever, a family tragedy catalyzed tion, the community around the John B. the program into something much larger.

Wright Elementary School in Tucson is working around a common goal: a shared Two years into building the program, Marin’s son was killed while serving with garden plot. the Marines in Afghanistan.

Elementary students, teachers, local “It was a difficult time,” Marin said. “But residents and university students have all collaborated on the garden that serves as we wanted to bring community support together and build a heroes garden.” a bright spot to everyone involved.

So with the help of community mem“There’s nothing more amazing than bers and staff, the garden program grew. watching children in the garden,” said Private company AAA Landscaping former JB Wright Elementary principal collaborated with third graders to create Maria Marin.

The school’s garden program includes the design and layout, while Sundt Construction donated the concrete garden a “mini-orchard,” a greenhouse, a raisedbed. By summer 2012, the harvest was in bed garden and a desert tortoise habitat. full swing.

Crops at the garden include carrots, “We wanted to recognize all of the lost onions, bok choy and multiple citrus trees. heroes,” Marin said. “And this can also Their greenhouse is able to grow plants from seeds to seedlings, and JBW is even be a place for kids to come and grow and learn.” working to trade seedlings with other For the last decade, the garden has school garden programs in the Tucson

By Cameron Jobson tucsoneditor@tucsonlocalmedia.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

boosted the community by inspiring kids to learn while providing social and emotional benefits. Wright teachers bring their students outside for hands-on learning and early exposure to STEM fields as they work together cultivating the soil and caring for the crops.

“It’s really important to expose our students to learning that was not just content enriching, but improving quality of life,” Marin said. “From farm to table, we help our students learn about healthy eating and the impact it has on healthy brains… It gives the students empowerment and agency. They learn a concept, get to apply it, and observe the outcome.”

Students also developed critical questioning skills and a “sense of wonder.”

Marin has seen how they compete to grow the tallest bean sprout or the biggest leaf and notice how plants change.

Marin said teachers allow their students to explore on their own, slowly becoming self-managing learners. As a result, Marin noticed increased attendance and a decreased discipline rate.

“They were more excited about their learning and it was more meaningful,” Marin said. “They get to be outside in the fresh air, looking at these beautiful plants, instead of sitting behind a desk.”

The students get to reap the benefits of their own hard work, too. Once their harvest is fully grown, the crops go to the school cafeteria, or straight home with the grade-level students.

“Recently, students made a traditional recipe for Chinese New Year with produce that we’ve harvested,” said Moses Thompson, director of the University of Arizona’s Community & School Garden Program. “All the kids got a salad that

COURTESY PHOTO

“It’s really important to expose our students to learning that was not just content enriching, but improving quality of life,” said former Wright Elementary principal Maria Marin. “From farm to table, we help our students learn about healthy eating and the impact it has on healthy brains.”

they made in their own garden.”

With the help of the UA Community & School Garden Program, the Wright garden feeds around 90 families a year.

Through the program, UA students work alongside the K-12 children for six to 12 hours per week. The UA students experience professional development in the ecology program while earning internship credit. They are responsible for maintaining the gardens, working on the harvest, and providing some educational services to the Wright students.

“It’s an inspiring place to work and connect with the garden,” Thompson said.

“I really love that school and I really love that community.”

Thanks to Tucson’s climate, the garden produces harvest year-round. Different crops are planted in different seasons, depending on the temperature.

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“Since the warm season is coming up, we are planning to plant new crops at the end of this month,” Thompson said. “And it somewhat slows down from March to the end of the school year.”

The summer harvest months, when the students aren’t in school, depend on scheduling. The school typically plans the planting seasons around seeds that will grow into harvest by the end of May. But Marin says they can still grow crops even when it’s hot and kids aren’t in school.

During the pandemic, students were still able to work in the gardens while remaining socially distanced.

The Wright garden has not only provided food for local families, but has allowed teachers and students to connect with the natural world through their learning experiences.

“Once the students come outside, their whole demeanor changes,” said Wright principal Deanna Campos in a TUSD video. “It’s uplifting. They’re like, ‘Wow, this is great.’ They’re peaceful, and you can see it right away as soon as they come into the courtyard.” ■

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Editor’s Note: While we are delighted to see Tucsonans once again gathering for fun events, we are also aware that variants are in widespread circulation.

Please consider getting vaccinated against COVID if you haven’t yet.

The Hotel Congress Séance Experience.

You know, sometimes you just gotta go talk to a ghost. Or at least try and listen to a ghost. These special, live, theatrical seances are held in the only room on Hotel Congress’ third floor that survived the 1934 fire. The fire started in the basement and spread up to the third floor, where the Dillinger gang was hiding out after a series of bank robberies. Spooky stuff! Keep in mind that the 1934 fire also destroyed the elevator, so you’ll need to walk up some stairs to get to this event.

7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26. Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St. $12.50 regular or $25 VIP. Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America. The winner of a Documentary Spotlight Award at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, this film follows criminal defense/civil rights lawyer Jeffrey Robinson, as he paints a portrait of anti-Black racism in the United States, from slavery to today. Directors Emily and Sarah Kuntsler are the daughters of lawyer and civil rights activist William Kunstler, best known for defending the Chicago Seven. After the film, hear from a panelist of experts: Karsonya Wise Whitehead, founder and director of the Karson Institute for Race, Peace and Social Justice; Jamie Utt-Schumaker, founder and Director of Education at CivilSchools: Building Bullying-Free Culture; and Sherard A. Robbins, founder and CEO of Visceral Change. 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25. Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. $10 GA. The Choir of Man. This show has been called “the ultimate feel-good show,” and I think we could all use that. The whole thing takes place in a good ol’ Irish pub, and features a cast of nine dudes who are extremely good at harmonizing.

There is tap dancing! There are poetic meditations on the power of community! And there is even the Pina Colada song, and a real, working bar onstage.

Come on down to the Fox Theatre for a foot tappin’, sing-alongin’ good time. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26. Fox Theatre, 17 W. Congress St. $27.50 to $47.50.

The Kreutzer Sonata. What’s more dramatic than moody classical music? How about Leo Tolstoy? How about MURDER? Thank goodness for Live Theatre Workshop, which brings us this play with all three. Playwright Nany Harris has brought this story by Leo Tolstoy to life, honoring his wish that it someday be set to music. It’s about a man who finds out his wife is having an affair with her music partner and is murderously angry. Through March 19.

730 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays Live Theatre Workshop, 3322 E. Fort Lowell Road. $23 GA.

by Emily Dieckman Little One-Inch. Ah, the story of li’l Tom Thumb is so charming. Somehow even more charming is the Japanese version, Little One-Inch. And the charm level just goes through the roof when it’s put on as a gorgeous puppet show over at Red Herring Puppets. Artistic director Lisa Sturz puts her 40 years of experience in puppetry into this show full of magical elements, beautiful visuals and sweet life lessons about how even the tiniest of people can achieve great and wonderful things. Recommended for ages 3 and up.

2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26 and Sunday, Feb. 27.

Red Herring Puppet Studio at the Tucson Mall (between Macy’s and Forever 21). $8.

Rob Boone’s “Blue Trombone: The Music of JJ Johnson.” JJ Johnson started playing trombone when he was 14, and became one of the very first trombonists to embrace the bebop style. He was a hugely influential performer and composer, with trombonist Steve Turre once saying, “All of us that are playing today wouldn’t be playing the way we’re playing if it wasn’t for what he did.” Rob Boone is Tucson’s first call trombonist who has organized a tribute to JJ Johnson, named for the 1957 Blue Note album. Any excuse to spend time in The Century Room, the snazzy new jazz club over at Hotel Congress, is good by us. Saturday, Feb. 26. Show at 7:30 p.m., doors at 7 p.m. Century Club at Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St. $15, plus a one-item minimum.

Action Week Book Drive. This event by the Assistance League of Tucson is a great and easy way to give back to the community. Throughout the week, they’ll be accepting donations of NEW books for all ages at the following locations: Mildred and Dildred, 1725 N. Swan Road; Mostly Books, 6208 E. Speedway Blvd.; and Barnes & Noble East, 5130 E. Broadway Blvd. They will also have a donation drop off box at their thrift store, 1307 Alvernon Way. The book drive lasts through Tuesday, March 1. There will be Assistance League volunteers in stores 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mildred and Dildred and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Mostly Books on Saturday, Feb. 26; and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 27 at Barnes and Noble.

Silent Art Auction + Donation Benefit for Lacey Wilson. Lacey Wilson is a local speaker, advocate and friend to many known for going out of her way to help others. After receiving a diagnosis of Graves Disease, ovarian cysts and anemia a few months ago, life has been difficult. Crooked Tooth is hosting this silent auction, with pieces donated from local artists, to help finance her medical costs.

It feels good to do good. But a chance to support a good cause, local artists, and a local business all in one night? With craft beer? That feels extra good. Noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26. Crooked Tooth Brewing Co., 228 E. Sixth St. Angels Too Marketplace. Formerly known as the Unique Boutique, this craft show has been around for more than a quarter of a century, and they’re always growing. This month, come see 40+ vendors selling treats ranging from handmade crafts to jewelry to metal art to knitted and sewn items to baked goods. Do you ever just step back and think about how lucky we are to live in a community with so much dang art and creativity? Here’s to you, Tucson. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26 and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 27. La Paloma Academy, 8140 E. Golf Links Road.

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

MUSIC

COURTESY PHOTO

Birds and Arrows, which won Best Rock Band in Best of Tucson 2021, are performing their new album in full at Hotel Congress on Friday, Feb. 25.

AFLIGHT AGAIN

Birds and Arrows previewing new album with a throwback sound at special Hotel Congress show

By Jeff Gardner jeff@tucsonlocalmedia.com WHEN ANDREA AND PETE CONNOLLY moved from North Carolina to Tucson, their folk music roots quickly mixed with the desert rock of the Southwest. Their band, Birds and Arrows, now wields a unique combination of psychedelic rock that still maintains a bluesy foundation.

This style is even further developed on their forthcoming album, Electric Bones, which features a throwback ’70s sound thanks to a studio band style despite two years of isolation.

Although Electric Bones doesn’t officially release until this summer, Birds and Arrows are performing a special album preview show on Friday, Feb. 25, at Hotel Congress, where they will play the new album in its entirety. The show will feature the full studio band, including multiple Tucson musicians, and other bands on Hookworm Records, which is releasing the album.

Recorded throughout the pandemic, Electric Bones was essentially recorded in two separate segments: half the songs in spring 2020 and the other half in fall 2021.

However, Andrea and Pete maintained their artistic momentum between the two periods by releasing videos, singles and participating in a compilation of Tucson musicians. Despite the time between the two halves, the album sounds cohesive in

its blend of space and emotion.

“All of our records have sort of had different feels to them. There’s usually a bit of play where we don’t get stuck in the same sound. And I think that worked in our favor,” Andrea said. “Since it was written during the pandemic, the lyrics naturally tell stories about it. For instance, the song ‘False Star’ was written during the heart of it and it represents how musicians were in a very depressed state about music. But there is one thing we didn’t want to do: Popular music is already taking a dive into the bedroom pop world, with everyone recording at home and having electronic drums, so things sound very small. That’s why we waited it out to make sure we could have big production in-studio and live drums.

Pete is such a great, groovy drummer, and to take that away is to take away half our sound.”

The core of the album is fairly straightforward rock songs with Andrea and Pete trading off singing, which is often surrounded by walls of guitar and drums. What really sets the band apart isn’t the music structure, but the texture. Songs jump between intricately layered rock songs with synthesizers, moody nocturnes, and loud jams perfect for diving through the desert. Pete describes the large, colorful production as a “kind of protest” after years of pandemic quietness.

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By Xavier Omar Otero tucsoneditor@tucsonlocalmedia.com

MARK YOUR CALENDARS… THURSDAY, FEB. 24 In 2015, the handwritten manuscript containing the lyrics to “American Pie” was auctioned at Christie’s for $1.2 million.

“Bye, Bye Miss American Pie.” Legendary singer-songwriter Don McLean drives his “Chevy to the levy’’ one more time. With special guest multi-platinum British folk rocker Al Stewart. At The Fox Theatre…

Rejecting the idea of conformity. In a mashup of sweaty-palmed teen angst and slinky R&B, Belaganas (Phoenix) + No Suits (L.A.) are making their own lanes.

At 191 Toole… In their debut performance,

The Morpholinos——Nick Augustine, Karl Hoffmann, Gary Mackender, and Neil MaCallion—present An Evening of Tallsome Tales. With an opening set by Don Armstrong, Liz Cerepanya, Petie Ronstadt and Dan Davis. At Monterey Court… Nanda Zip, Anchorbaby, CLASS and CMG do unspeakable things. At Hotel Congress Plaza… Reggae rockers Desert Fish are at Chicago Bar… Since the Tucson Rodeo’s inception in 1925, this annual celebration of cowboy culture has been an eagerly anticipated event. After the last bull bucks, the Billy Shaw Jr. Band will take you on a wild ride. La Fiesta de los Vaqueros. Feb 24-27. At Tucson Rodeo Grounds…

FRIDAY, FEB. 25 The lovelorn ghosts of the Old West are coming around to haunt us, once more.

Best known for writing and performing a mix of Western, country and pop, singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey has released over 35 albums. His 1975 platinum hit “Wildfire”—a sentimental song about the ghosts of a woman and her horse—

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stands as one of the most-aired songs in radio history. A long-time champion of the western wilderness and wildlife, Murphey has lent his support to various causes associated with western culture and ideals. After a hard day’s ride in the climate controlled comfort, Michael Martin Murphey & The Rio Grande Band perpetuate the myth of the country outlaw. At Fox Tucson Theatre…

“Keep It Sexy.” A mixture of trap and dubstep with heavy metal influences, gorestep is a sub-genre used to describe one artist’s music. EDM heads recognize. Raised in Tel Aviv, Yosef Asaf Borger (aka Borgore) told Spinner that the sounds in his songs have been compared to horror movies, farm animals and sex. Counting hundreds of millions of streams across his discography, the former drummer of Israeli deathcore band Shabira first exploded onto the scene with his breakout single “Decisions” (2012) featuring Miley Cyrus. Since then, he has collaborated on projects with Gucci Mane, G-Eazy, Juicy J, Diplo and Waka Flocka Flame. International DJ/producer Borgore drops tracks from Slaughterhouse (2021), his latest EP. At Gentle Ben’s… Tucson alt-rockers The Basements occupy the big

stage. At 191 Toole. With SHIFTY… In 1995, in an uncanny twist of fate, Oliver Ray went from being a New York City street poet/ noise guitarist to a full-time member of the Patti Smith Band. Featuring the music of Oliver Ray and Zane Nichols, Westbound presents Singer-Songwriter Night. At MSA Annex… In advance of their forthcoming release, Birds and Arrows offer a preview of Electric Bones (slated to drop this summer).

Hookworm Records Spring Showcase. With indie-pop duo Night Weather and Daphne and The Glitches. At Hotel Congress Plaza… Followed by DJ Humblelianess presiding over Tucson’s hottest Latin dance party. El Tambó. At Hotel Congress Plaza…

Austin reggae giants Lion Heights leave big shoe prints. At Chicago Bar… Singer-songwriter Brian Berggoetz toasts the release of his latest album. At Monterey Court… In a tag team lucha libre death match, Shooda Shook It, United Snakes, and Evil Jungle Princess grapple to the end. At Sky Bar… From Nashville, Tennessee by way of Willcox, Arizona, country singer Vince Moreno comes back home for a visit. At Eddie’s Cocktails… Parisian jazz guitarist Naïm Amor provides the velvety

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

soundtrack for the first Late Night. At The Century Room…

SATURDAY, FEB. 26 Created by surfers during the 1950s who wanted something to do during the downtime when the waves were low, skateboarding emerged as a truly American cultural phenomenon. Along with skate legends and pros, contests, vendors, food trucks, and rad shit popping off everywhere, Teenage Bottlerocket, Dead Fucking Last, Urethane, Go Betty Go, Change Today and many others provide the banging musical soundtrack for this annual festival in honor of the skateboard. Drop into the bowl for SkaterCon 6. At Santa Rita Skatepark… The “Best Thing Since Backroads.” An avid golfer, country star Jake Owen (in an interview with Barstool Sports) described a verbal altercation with Phil Mickelson. Expressing disappointment with the outcome of The Match: Tiger vs Phil (a winner-take-all golf challenge in which Mickelson defeated Tiger Woods for $9 million in prize money), Owen asked for a refund. Owen had paid $29.99 (the cost of the pay-per-view event) and alleges that Mickelson pulled a wad of $100 bills from his pocket and responded, “Yeah, I won 90,000 of these yesterday. Take one and go fuck yourself.” Jake Owen headlines the Cologuard Classic 2022 Military Appreciation Concert. Diamond Rio and Sophia Rankin and The Sound open the show after the last putt drops. At Omni National Golf Resort… In 1966, Nina Simone released “Four Women.” The song was both a civil rights protest and a feminist anthem.

Fifty years later, playwright Christina Ham saw it as a way into a story about noxious racism and the human capacity for resilience. Arizona Theater Company presents Nina Simone: Four Women. Runs through March 19. At Tucson Temple of Music and Arts… Imagine the best pub gig ever?

Featuring Broadway numbers, folk and rock tunes, performed by a cast of world class singers, dancers and instrumentalists, the runaway hit of the international music and theater scene The Choir of Man comes to town. At Fox Tucson Theatre… In a salute to the music of hard bop trombone master JJ Johnson, the Rob Boone Quartet presents Blue Trombone. At The Century Room…

A native of Houston’s historic Third Ward, this iconoclastic underground rapper’s style

is based around storytelling. Continuing a monthly DJ residency, Fat Tony can be found telling stories from behind the turntables. At Hotel Congress Plaza… A voice of the Southwest, troubadour John Coinman won the international music video category (2021) at the Procida International Film Festival in Italy for “Long Way Home.” A collaborative piece between Coinman, his wife Jo, and photographer Michael Hyatt, the music video portrays the plight of immigrants along the U.S.–Mexico border.

John Coinman Band. At Monterey Court…

Taking the road often traveled, Middle Lanes celebrate the release of their debut EP. At Club Congress… In a production abounding in laser lights, video walls, and special effects, Shine On Floyd: A Tribute to Pink Floyd perform The Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety, along with other Floyd classics. At The Gaslight Music Hall (Oro Valley)…

SUNDAY, FEB. 27 Dave Guard and Bob Shane’s friendship dates back to the late 1940s. Meeting in a Honolulu junior high school, they both learned to play ukulele in required music classes. Later, while attending college in Northern California, after meeting tenor Nick Reynolds, The Kingston Trio was formed. They began modestly as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub and beer garden act, until their 1958 self-titled debut album spawned a hit single. A cover of the 1866 murder ballad “Tom Dooley” shot to the top of the Billboard charts. “It was a phenomenon, as influential in its time as The Beatles would become in theirs,” guitar manufacturer C.F. Martin & Company has been widely quoted as proclaiming.

Pioneers of the college concert circuit, The Kingston Trio rose to help launch the folk music revival of the late 1950s and ’60s, fueled by unprecedented sales of LP records (the Long-Play vinyl platter was introduced

by Columbia in 1948) and altering the direction of pop music. The legacy continues as kin of the original members now carry the torch. The Kingston Trio perform the hits. At Fox Tucson Theatre… Led by fire cat vocalist Connie Brannock, Little House of Blues will set the coals ablaze. The Congress Cookout. At Hotel Congress Plaza…

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AFLIGHT AGAIN

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

“Sometimes the production of the ’70s records is what we’re going for, less than maybe the instrumentation or songwriting,” Pete said. “But there wasn’t a pressure to have a Southwestern feel. It just naturally occurred. If you sense a Southwestern vibe, it was likely just by osmosis. It wasn’t something that was planned.”

The desert certainly has a presence on the album, from a saguaro on the album cover, to the song “Truth or Consequences” named after the New Mexican town, to guest performances from Tucson rock band XIXA. “The ’70s sound, we really leaned into for production ideas. Certain things like builds and places where we wanted drums to be big,” Andrea said. “We’d seek through some of our old favorites for inspiration.”

An article about Birds and Arrows would be incomplete without mentioning the couple’s visual element. Both Andrea and Pete also work in the visual arts, and their music videos can be feasts for the eyes. The video for “Dark Watchers” is a sci-fi odyssey through the Sonoran Desert, opening with a title card: “Tucsonia, Pima District, 2064.”

With the album complete, Andrea and

Pete shopped their music around for a record label. While the release was delayed due to the pandemic, an additional delay comes with printing it on vinyl, set to complete in August.

“It was definitely a weird time to shop it around, because everyone was backed up with projects they meant to release two years ago. So that was a process, but we managed to have it going to be released

by Hookworm Records in Tempe,” Andrea said. “We’re really excited about it, because they’ve only done compilations before. So we’re the first band to do a full album on the label. And it helps working with a label from the area, because they’ve seen us live and understand the whole feeling of our sound.

That probably gave us a boost.”

The album preview show on Friday, Feb. 25, at Hotel Congress will feature Tucson musicians Gabriel Sullivan, Ben Nisbet, Brian Lopez and Martha DeLeon performing with Pete and Andrea. In addition, other bands signed to Hookworm Records will also play at the show.

After years of uncertainty around live music, Birds and Arrows are taking this opportunity to perform with many of the Tucson musicians who helped make Electric Bones sound as large as it does. As Andrea puts it, this show is planned to be “a real event.” ■

XOXO

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Los Angeles darkwave artist Blood Handsome joins DJ Mijito for the latest installment of Disco Oscura. Together they will have you Dancing on the Edge of a Knife.

At The Royal Room…

MONDAY, FEB. 28 Nada mucho.

TUESDAY, MARCH 1 From the outset, Chicago has embodied the confluence of the academic approach to music with one coming from the streets. In 1968, at the insistence of their manager, the band relocated to Los Angeles in a move that would prove fortuitous. After signing with Columbia Records, they began performing regularly at the infamous Whisky a Go Go. Before long they fell in with a heady crowd, opening for Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix once told Chicago saxophonist Walter Parazaider, “Your horn players are like one set of lungs and your guitar player is better than me.” Despite numerous lineup changes, the loss of co-founding member guitarist Terry Kath, and enduring the vicissitudes that accompany a career spanning five decades, Chicago has emerged as one of the longest-running and most successful American rock groups, second only to the Beach Boys. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Chicago return. At Tucson Music Hall… Rising to prominence during the heady days of prog rock, English keyboardist Rick Wakeman recorded a second album with The Strawbs, From The Witchwood (1971), before leaving the band to join Yes. After touring America for the first time, as a member of Yes, he recorded what would become the band’s classic album Fragile, regarded by many as the epitome of the progressive rock album. By year’s end he signed a solo contract with A&M Records and recorded Catherine of Aragon in London. 1971 proved to be a very good year, indeed. And that was just the beginning of a long career. In 2021, Wakeman’s outstanding accomplishments were

recognized by Queen Elizabeth II, who named him a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to music and broadcasting. Rock and roll royalty, Rick Wakeman returns to America.

The Even Grumpier Old Rock Star Tour.

At Rialto Theater… As if a slice of king cake and a po’ boy weren’t enticing enough. Observing the time-honored celebration—the music, the dancing, the carefree abandon— of the last night before the ritual sacrifices and fasting of the Lenten season commence. Dr. Mojo & the Zydeco Cannibals and DJ Carl Hanni keep the spirit of Fat Tuesday alive. Mardis Gras Celebration. At Hotel Congress Plaza… Writer/filmmaker Daniel Buckley will explore the far-reaching impact of mariachi music—from ground-breaking Flor de Toloache to Mariachi Sol de Mexico’s festive holiday program, Merry-Achi Christmas—in an informal chat and storytelling session. Curious Conversations. At Fox Tucson Theatre…

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2 Functioning on the borderline of songwriting—utilizing electronics as instruments, creating loops to build layer-upon-layer of sound—these two extraordinary songwriters innovate to beautiful effect. Arizona Arts Live presents Elizabeth Goodfellow and Jillian Bessett in an exploration of new sonic landscapes. At Club Congress… Joe Peña and Phoenix’s Rocking Chair help photographer Jimi Gianatti fête Vanishing Highways, an exhibition of vintage neon photographed by the side of the road. At Tap & Bottle… “I write songs. I sing songs. I feel music everywhere I go.” Little Cat trills and yowls. At Crooked Tooth Brewing Co… On the horizon: “Tangled Up In Blue.”

Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, elder statesman of American music Bob Dylan will perform pieces from Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020), his 39th studio album. On Friday, March 4. At Tucson Music Hall…

Until next week, XOXO…

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

MARIJUANA MEETUP

Cannafriends Tucson offers an opportunity for weed enthusiasts to gather and sample products

By Alexandra Pere tucsoneditor@tucsonlocalmedia.com AMETHYST KINNEY GREETED every person that attended the Tucson February Cannafriends event on Thursday, Feb. 17.

Kinney stood by the parking lot entrance into The Annabelle Photography Studio at 630 E. Ninth St., to greet each person with a smile and a hug before telling them to smoke a free “dab” before entering the studio.

Kinney is the regional director of Cannafriends Tucson, a cannabis networking group that grew out of the Phoenix-based Cannafriends organization. Kinney began the Cannafriends networking event in Tucson in December 2021.

“What I love about it is, it’s a great place for people who smoke cannabis who saw the stigmas of ‘I’m looked down upon because I smoke cannabis,’ it’s a safe place for them to come,” Kinney said.

Tickets for the Cannafriends monthly event are $20, which includes access to cannabis-infused snacks like tater tots with kush sauce, in-person contact with cannabis brand associates and raffle contests. Kinney said she loves the event because cannabis users can discover new products and where they are available in Tucson. Infused and non-infused foods were provided by local restaurant Dante’s Fire.

Kinney’s love for cannabis grew out of a personal health crisis. In 2010, she was diagnosed with the chronic disease multiple sclerosis (MS). Her disease was eating away at the protective barrier around her nerves, resulting in intense chronic pain.

“I was bedridden and I was taking all the pills, like seven bottles on the side of my table,” Kinney said. “I couldn’t get out of bed, I would have to get a walker and

struggle to the kitchen to do dishes because I felt like I needed to do something to help out.”

It wasn’t until Kinney’s friend told her to try cannabis that she began to walk independently again.

“Now I have only two bottles of pills,” Kinney said.

Since then, Kinney capitalizes on her new lot in life by being a cannabis advocate and industry networker. While working as regional director of Tucson Cannafriends, Kinney is also the treasurer of Arizona NORML, the marijuana legalization advocacy organization. AZ NORML was also one of the event vendors.

All of the vendors gave brand presentations and drew raffle prizes towards the end of the event.

Local Tucson brand iLava showcased the new iLava Touch gel. The iLava Touch topical combines more than 500 milligrams of THC and CBD oil in a skin-safe gel. Assistant Manager Michael Thomas of D2 Dispensary said the new lotion was formulated with an employee’s experience in mind.

Adriana Tysenn, compliance and education director at the Downtown and D2 Dispensaries, said during the presentation that she wanted to enhance the product to work for her own nerve condition. Previous topicals that were meant to help with her nerve pain stained her clothing, smelled of cannabis and didn’t fully absorb into her skin.

“They [iLava] hired a clinical aromatherapist so we could work on the smell,” Tysenn said. “There are nine different essential oils in the topical. The primary essential oils, corsican helichrysum, mango, ginger, and blue tansy, that’s what gives it a more herbal smell versus a cannabis smell, and we also have a carrying

agent in it that allows it to be a systemic approach to medicating. The carrying agent is DMSO, so it goes deeper than just the dermis.”

Other vendors included Earth’s Healing Dispensary, Aeriz Aeroponic Cannabis, Titan Laboratories, Stiiizy, Delta 8 Oils, Extraction Goods, Nug Jewelz, Tucson House of Cannabis and the Marijuana Industry Trade Association (MITA).

MITA founder Demitri Downing said the organization mainly meets in Phoenix but hopes to move down to Tucson as the cannabis industry continues to grow. The trade association offers a membership program that includes monthly meetings, training, education and networking opportunities for cannabis businesses.

Downing gave a quick shoutout to iLava for creating more than 200 jobs in Tucson.

“If you’re part of the industry, come share, teach, learn, interact with your fellow industry members, and other individuals can come and learn from you as well,” Downing said.

Kinney thanked MITA for providing free promotion for the Cannafriends event and is looking forward to providing more safe spaces for cannabis users in Tucson.

“I’m gonna have so many more events in Tucson because we need to send love,” Kinney said. ■ Visit azcannafriends.com to get tickets for future events.

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Reflections and Remembrance

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my partner of three years. During quarantine, sex has become less frequent and less exciting, and we’ve talked, but still no solution. I think we can turn things around and I’m in love with her and see myself with her in the future, but I would like to open our relationship. I think we’d both enjoy and be excited by new prospects. On the flip side, I’m not sure this will make things better.

I have brought this up to her directly, but it never goes well. I have a solo work trip coming up and I can’t stop thinking about how easily I can have a one-night stand and some meaningless, fun sex. I feel bad about this, but also feel as though it could help me figure things out. I’ve brought up how I want to open our relationship, and she’s entertained the idea, but we haven’t come to a mutual agreement. What can I do? I am not sexually fulfilled and can’t live like this forever. Help!

—Desperate Lesbo

SAVAGE LOVE SUB OPTIMAL

By Dan Savage, mail@savagelove.net

I’m a submissive gay man with a 15-year-old nephew. Through his actions and words, both his parents and I have gathered he might be gay, which is absolutely no issue.

However, we’ve also recently discovered that he seems to be interested in D/s themes with him as the sub. Besides the occasional veiled comments and sketchy online searches, he’s also described situations where he’s convinced other boys to subtly Dom him, both in vanilla ways and some decidedly more borderline. We’re being careful to teach him about healthy boundaries and appropriate behaviors, but I have an additional struggle with all this. As a gay sub, I’ve been a bit of a failure. I’ve had no lasting relationships.

I’ve never found a man who wanted me as both a partner and his slave. I know that there are success stories out there—sub guys with partners and families—but I’m not one of them. I want to be a good gay uncle, but honestly, I’m an objectively poor role model.

If this is the path he ultimately takes, I want him to be safe, happy, and loved. But I don’t know how to do this if I’m advising from my own collection of saddo experiences. Any suggestions?

—Uncle Good Heart “By emphasizing the importance of consent, UGH is already getting the most important thing right,” said Hadrian Temple, a dominant gay leatherman, blogger, and erotica author. “UGH’s nephew needs to know he has a right to say no to any form of play he feels uncomfortable with. He should also know that until he has agreed to some sort of power exchange with a potential Dom, they are interacting as equals. He doesn’t have to start obeying the Dom until he’s agreed to start obeying, and he can withdraw his consent at any time and stop the play.”

Your nephew also needs to be told that “convincing” other boys to “subtly dominate him” isn’t ethical. If these boys don’t realize what your nephew is doing—and what they’re doing for your nephew—then they haven’t consented to playing D/s games with him. And just as your nephew wants to avoid bad Doms lurking on the other end of sketchy online searches—and any adult Dom willing to play with a 15-year-old boy is by definition bad and untrustworthy— your nephew needs to avoid being a bad/ creepy/manipulative sub.

“And besides, pushing vanilla guys to dominate him is not a great long-term strategy for finding a Dom,” said Temple.

“One of the hardest things for novice subs to understand is that vanilla guys don’t like

to be dominant—if they did, they wouldn’t be vanilla. Sure, there are some guys who don’t realize they’re kinky until a sub comes along, but he shouldn’t assume every hot guy he likes is a potential Dom. In most cases, attempting to ‘convert’ vanilla guys is a waste of time.”

And while exploring his sexuality with an age-appropriate partner who shares your nephew’s kinks would be safer, more appropriate, and legal, finding someone his own age who’s not just gay but also attracted to him and into dominating someone—and someone your nephew is attracted to in turn—is a tall order. Instead of searching for someone to play with right now, reading about, thinking about, fantasizing about, and masturbating about his kinks would be a far better and less frustrating use of his time.

As for whether your nephew needs to know about your saddo experiences…

“In one sense, it doesn’t matter if UGH is a ‘poor role model’ where long-term relationships are concerned,” said Temple. “He can still offer his nephew good advice without going into sad or sordid details. He can answer questions and promise to be non-judgmental. And UGH shouldn’t assume he’s a bad sub—or a bad role model—because he hasn’t found a long-term kinky partner.

There are lots of reasons why a sub might not have met the right Dom, and only a few of those reasons really come down to being a bad sub. Most kinksters feel there are more subs out there than there are Doms, so there are good subs who haven’t been able to get the partner they deserve because the Dom-to-sub ratio is skewed.”

And while kinks can complicate a person’s search for a partner, being vanilla—or pretending to be vanilla—does not guarantee someone a partner. Just as there are lots of happily partnered kinky people out there (some partnered with people who aren’t kinky), there are lots of 100% vanilla people out there who are unhappily single.

To get a young sub’s perspective, UGH, I shared your question with Gimpboy95, a 26-year-old gay sub in Chicago. (Gimpboy95 is his handle on Instagram, and it’s how he wanted to be identified in the column.) Not too long ago Gimpboy95 was in your nephew’s shoes: another gay, kinky, inexperienced teenager scouring the Internet for information, porn, and connection.

“There are some shady/sketchy people out there, of course, but there’s a lot of good out there too,” said Gimpboy95, who had his first sexual experiences at age 18. “UGH’s nephew can do his research, figure out what

he likes, and ultimately find his community, just like I did. And finding community is, in my opinion, absolutely crucial.”

Finding community means making kinky friends, not just matching with kinky sex partners.

“Having a shoulder or boot to lean on has helped me tremendously,” said Gimpboy95.

“So once UGH’s nephew is old enough, he shouldn’t be afraid to put himself out there—and not just on the internet. Meeting other people in the kink community at local events who were open and accepting—whether their identities were centered around kink or kink was more of a hobby— really has been the most fulfilling part of my journey.”

Follow Hadrian Temple on Twitter @ HadrianTemple and check out his blog and his erotica at gaybdsmfiction.blog. Follow Gimpboy95 on Instagram @Gimpboy95.

I have a vagina and I’ve been happily married to someone with a penis for 15 years.

In general, I have always enjoyed banjo players more than harmonica players. Honestly, cunnilingus doesn’t do it for me. I just get bored. It’s been this way for as long as I can remember. In fact, the only way I can reliably cum is by fingering myself, although being fingered by my partner is great too. In the last year my partner has really gotten into cunnilingus. He spends a lot of time down there. Are there any tricks or toys that can make it less boring for me so I can stay in the mood?

—Bored Over Ravenously Eating Dude Let him play the harmonica while you pluck that banjo.

I’m a lesbian in her thirties located in SF. I am in a pretty healthy relationship with

There’s the right thing to do… which is to honor the monogamous commitment you’ve made while continuing to be honest with your partner about your desire to renegotiate the terms of your commitment and slowly move towards the openness you want while making sure your partner feels safe, secure and prioritized at every moment along what is likely to be a long journey, and one that may never get you to your desired destination… and then there’s the thing a lot of people wind up doing… which is to have impulsive sex with some rando on a business trip and then get caught or confess, thereby creating the kind of crisis that forces a rapid renegotiation of the terms of your commitment. The former approach might never get where you want to be—your partner might never agree to open the relationship—while the latter approach almost always (but not always) gets you dumped.

You say that things can’t go on like this forever. You aren’t sexually fulfilled, and it doesn’t sound like you ever will be, unless your partner agrees to open the relationship*. Since that’s the case, DL, you could opt for a variation on the right thing to do: demand a rapid renegotiation without cheating. She’ll feel pressured, yes, but better to feel pressured than betrayed and pressured. * Not everyone in an open relationship is sexually fulfilled. Just saying. questions@savagelove.net Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage.

Columns, podcasts, books, merch and more at www.savage.love!

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

By Rob Brezsny. Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s EXPANDED WEEKLY HOROSCOPE 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700 $1.99 per minute. 18 and over. Touchtone phone required.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it,” wrote author G. K. Chesterton. Amen to that! Please regard his observation as the first part of your horoscope. Here’s the second part: It’s sometimes the right approach to move in harmony with the flow, to allow the momentum of elemental forces to carry you along. But now is not one of those times. I suggest you experiment with journeys against the flow. Go in quest of what the followers of easy options will never experience. Do it humbly, of course, and with your curiosity fully deployed.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “You’re never allowed to step on people to get ahead,” said TV personality and author Star Jones, “but you can step over them if they’re in your way.” I suspect the coming months will be a time when you really should step over people who are in your way. There’s no need to be mad at them, criticize them, or gossip about them. That would sap your energy to follow your increasingly clear dreams. Your main task is to free yourself from influences that obstruct your ability to be the Royal Sovereign of Your Own Destiny.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini-born Gina Rowlands is retired now, but she had an award-winning six-decade career as an actor. At age 20, she decided what she wanted to do with her life, and her parents offered her their blessings. She testified: “I went home and I told my mom that I wanted to quit college and be an actress, and she said, ‘Huh, that sounds fascinating.

It’s wonderful!’ And I told my father, and he literally said, ‘I don’t care if you want to be an elephant trainer if it makes you happy.’”

Dear Gemini, in the coming months, I would love for you to receive similar encouragement for your budding ideas and plans. What can you do to ensure you’re surrounded by influences like Rowlands’ parents? I hope you embark on a long-term project to get all the support you need.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): As you enter an astrological phase when vast, expansive ruminations will be fun and healthy for you, I will offer you some vast, expansive thoughts. Hopefully, they will inspire your own spacious musings. First, here’s artist M. C. Escher: “Wonder is the salt of the earth.” Next, author Salman Rushdie: “What’s real and what’s true aren’t necessarily the same.” Here’s poet Allen Ginsberg: “When you notice something clearly and see it vividly, it then becomes sacred.” A proverb from the Omaha people: “Ask questions from your heart, and you will be answered from the heart.” G. K.

Chesterton: “Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.” Finally, playwright Tony Kushner: “I’m not religious, but I like God, and he likes me.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Out of love, you can speak with straight fury,” wrote author Eudora Welty. Here’s how I interpret that in light of the current chapter of your life story: You have an opportunity to recalibrate some misaligned energy. You have the necessary insight to fix an imbalance or dissolve an illusion or correct a flow that has gone off-course. And by far the best way to do that is by wielding the power of love. It will need to be expressed with vehemence and intense clarity, however. It will require you to be both compassionate and firm. Your homework: Figure out how to express transformative truths with kindness.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo political science professor Tatah Mentan was born and raised in the African country of Cameroon, which has never fully recovered from its grueling colonization by Germany, France, and England. The democratic tradition there is tenuous. When Mentan first taught at a university in the Cameroonian capital, authorities found his ideas too controversial. For the next 16 years, he attempted to be true to himself while avoiding governmental censorship, but the strain proved too stressful. Fearing for his safety, he fled to the US. I’m turning to him for advice that will serve you well in the coming weeks. He tells us, “Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Anything you do from the heart enriches you, but sometimes not till years later,” wrote author Mignon McLaughlin. I’m pleased to inform you, Libra, that you will soon receive your rewards for generous actions you accomplished in the past. On behalf of the cosmic rhythms, I apologize for how long it has taken. But at least it’s finally here. Don’t underestimate how big this is. And don’t allow sadness about your earlier deprivation to inhibit your enthusiastic embrace of compensation.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): No matter how reasonable and analytical you are, Scorpio, you possess a robust attraction to magic.

You yearn for the refreshing invigoration of non-rational mysteries. You nurture urges to be delighted by outbreaks of the raw, primal lust for life. According to my astrological assessment, you are especially inclined to want and need these feelings in the next

few weeks. And that’s good and healthy and holy! At the same time, don’t abandon your powers of discernment. Keep them running in the background as you enjoy your rejuvenating communions with the enigmatic pleasures of the Great Unknown.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Author Diane Ackerman tells us, “In the absence of touching and being touched, people of all ages can sicken and grow touch starved.

Touch seems to be as essential as sunlight.”

This is always important to remember, but it will be extra crucial for you to keep in mind during the coming weeks. I advise you to be ingenious and humble and frank as you collect as much physical contact as you can. Be polite and respectful, of course.

Never force yourself on anyone. Always seek permission. With those as your guidelines, be greedy for hugs and cuddling and caresses.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “Education, fundamentally, is the increase of the percentage of the conscious in relation to the unconscious.” Author and educator Sylvia Ashton-Warner said that, and now I’m telling you—just in time for one of the most lesson-rich times of a year that will be full of rich lessons. In the next nine months, dear Capricorn, the proportion of your consciousness in relation to your unconsciousness should markedly increase. And the coming weeks will be a favorable phase to upgrade your educational ambitions.

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AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You’re entering a phase of your cycle when your ability to boost your finances will be stronger than usual. You’ll be more likely to attract good luck with money and more apt to discover useful tips on how to generate greater abundance. To inspire your efforts, I offer you this observation by author Katharine Butler Hathaway: “To me, money is alive.

It is almost human. If you treat it with real sympathy and kindness and consideration, it will be a good servant and work hard for you, and stay with you and take care of you.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Author Deb Caletti made the following observation: “You have ordinary moments and ordinary moments and more ordinary moments, and then, suddenly, there is something monumental right there. You have past and future colliding in the present, your own personal Big Bang, and nothing will ever be the same.” In my vision of your destiny in 2022, Pisces, there could be several of these personal Big Bangs, and one of them seems to be imminent. To prepare—that is, to ensure that the changes are primarily uplifting and enjoyable—I suggest you chant the following mantra at least five times every day: “I love and expect good changes.”

Homework: Give yourself a blessing. Say why you’re wonderful and name a marvelous event that’s ahead for you.

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20 Spark of a sort 21 “The Simpsons” character who competed in a crossword tournament 23 Gathering of spies?

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Silk Road 36 Enter 37 Exhibit greatly, as charm 40 “The Lord of the Rings” baddies 41 Brownish red 42 It dissolves in H2O 45 What teaspoons are visà-vis tablespoons 48 Many a groaner 50 Setting for Robinson Crusoe 51 Lifesaving inits.

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