Foothills News, April 28, 2021

Desert Fire Danger | Page 4 • Fashion Forward | Page 10 • Golf Scramble for a Good Cause | Page 19

FOOTHILLS NEWS A ,  • V  • N  • .TLM.

Moving Pictures Etherton Gallery exhibits feature a century of history | Page 6 Danny Lyon, “The Cotton Pickers, Ferguson Unit, Texas Department of Corrections, 1968” from Thirty Photographs, 1962-1980 ©Danny Lyon/Magnum Photos

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Paperworks: Forming the Effect, Affecting the Form. In all of the chaos, confusion and downright misery that 2020 brought us, it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of one of the things that would have been more noticeable any other year: We hardly got any rain. Seriously, 2020 was the Sonoran Desert’s driest year on record.

This exhibit, on display at Tohono Chul, features pieces from local artists that reflect on drought and deluge, while ultimately celebrating the resilience of Mother Nature. And it’s not just a neat concept – the art really is gorgeous and varied, too. Tohono Chul,7366Paseo del Norte.

Galleries are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. $15 GA.

Desert To-Dos Foothills News, April 28, 2021

binder – traditionally egg yolk. And they’re super long-lasting: There are tempera paintings intact from the first century AD. Come check out DeGrazia’s unique twist on this ancient medium, which he explored in 1959 and 1960. As usual, he has a way of bringing images to life with his use of color and brushstrokes.

This exhibit is on display through September 1 at Courtesy photo the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun Museum, 6300 N. Kids of all ages will enjoy “Aesop’s Fables” at Tucson Mall’s Red Herring Puppet Studio.

Swan. The museum is open Art in Bloom. Spring has This exhibit serves as a good through Saturday and 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily sprung, and the Madaras reminder to appreciate just a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. and adult admission is $8.

Gallery is celebrating how vibrant and beautiful with this exhibit of Diana this time of year is. (I mean, Tempera Paintings of Aesop’s Fables.We are so Madaras’ floral paintings. have you seen those Desert Ted DeGrazia. In a crazy, glad that our local awardSometimes springtime in Mariposas???)

Exhibit unpredictable world, one winning professional Tucson, lovely as it is, gets runs through April 30 at thing we can rely on is puppet company is still overshadowed by the dread the Madaras Gallery, 3035 tempera paintings. This up and running! Seriously, of how hot the summer N. Swan Road. Hours are techniques involves colored owner and artistic months are about to get. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday pigments mixed with a

director Lisa Sturz has worked with Jim Henson Productions, Walt Disney Imagineering, Lucasfilm and more. In this show, see the puppets put on classic tales like The Tortoise and the Hare, the Crow and the Pitcher, and The Lion and the Mouse. These puppets are gorgeous, and put on truly unique shows. Plus, we could all do with some reminders about the importance of things like compassion and persistence these days, right? 2 and 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 1. Red Herring Puppet Studio in the Tucson Mall, between Macy’s and Forever 21.

4500 N. Oracle Road, Ste. 421. $8. Reservations required.

—By Emily Dieckman

Foothills News

The Foothills News is published twice each month and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout the Catalina Foothills. To find out where you can pick up a free copy of the Foothills News, go to www.

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Increased fire risk threatens all inhabitants of the Sonoran Desert

M B

Special to Tucson Local Media

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he Sonoran Desert is not what it used to be.

Over the past century, invasive grasses have spread across the region and transformed the landscape from the familiar diverse desert to more of an

arid grassland that is highly susceptible to fires.

Invasive grasses — from buffelgrass to red brome to love grass — have dramatically altered how fire can move through the desert. Places that used to burn once every 200 years may now be burning every 20 years because

these grasses serve as a fuel source that can easily spread wildfires. They sprout up in places that would normally be barren, connecting otherwise separate patches of desert plants. “You could make a case for saying the Sonoran Desert, as most people knew it, is extinct,” said Mary Lata, a U.S. Forest

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Service fire ecologist. “We just can’t keep pretending to manage the desert as if it’s the same system that it was 80 years ago.”

In a study published in February, researchers attempted to map social and ecological resilience to fires across the Sonoran Desert over the next 40 years to determine where land managers will need to intervene in order to protect the desert and human infrastructure. The study found that certain areas of the Sonoran Desert will have a harder time bouncing back after fire events. Land managers will likely need to rethink how to achieve desired management outcomes in these areas.

“It’s really critical that we start to better understand the dynamics that drive recovery, as we have limited resources and more and more areas that desperately need our attention,” said Dr. Clare Aslan, an associate professor at Northern Arizona University and lead author of the study.

Aslan and a team of researchers from NAU and Conservation Science Partners, a nonprofit research organization that seeks to develop solutions to large-scale environmental problems, mapped social and ecological resilience across the Sonoran Desert separately and later combined the maps to determine overall resilience—the ability of an area to return to its normal state after a disturbance.

The researchers mapped ecological resilience by determining the severity of the fire risk in the area, how quickly an area can bounce

back without human interference after a fire, and what that area will look like when life blooms again.

If enough change occurs within an area after a fire, the system can reach a “tipping point” and transition into a new state—like when a desert transitions into a grassland after a high intensity fire results in the death of native plants.

To map social resilience across the landscape, the researchers interviewed different land managers about how likely they feel they can continue to meet their management objectives in light of the projected fire risk in their jurisdiction over the next 40 years.

“If you’re a rancher, your objective is to raise cattle,” Aslan said. “If you’re a National Park Service unit, your objective is to provide recreation and conservation for a particular area. Objectives are relatively fixed. The activities you choose to meet that objective, those could change.”

The researchers argued that high social resilience is defined by a manager’s ability to continue to meet their objectives, even if that means they have to use new strategies to get there.

“A completely different set of objectives would indicate a really different social condition on that landscape—like you really can no longer ranch at all, so you’re going to have to pick recreation. There might be some very different use for the land,” Aslan said.

After mapping the combined social and ecological resilience, the researchers found that

certain geographic areas in the region are likely to exhibit lower combined resilience, while other areas are likely to exhibit higher resilience. In some cases, this is driven by the social factors, like access to resources and flexibility within a given agency. In other cases, it’s driven by ecological factors, such as the abundance of fuels in a given area.

For example, in the northeastern and eastern portions of the Sonoran Desert where elevation is slightly higher, there is an increasing abundance of fuels. On top of that, people frequently use these areas for recreation, so there is a higher likelihood someone will ignite a fire. The researchers determined these areas exhibit low resilience.

Conversely, there are areas in the western portion of the desert where there is relatively low human density and a small number of fuels.

In these areas, the land is more resilient.

Ultimately, more than half of the land mangers interviewed for the study reported they will likely need to come up with new strategies to manage their land in order to meet their objectives due to the increased fire risk across the desert.

Land managers with more resources,like the military and other federal stakeholders, feel more confident about their abilities to meet their objectives in the future. On the other hand, land mangers that seek to achieve objectives associated with conservation and the protection of cultural resources, like tribal stakeholders, acknowledged they will have a hard time

F N, A , 

Photo by Madison Beal

A sign displays the perceived fire risk near Sierra Vista, Ariz. As invasive grasses have spread across Arizona’s landscapes in recent years, the risk of fire has increased dramatically. achieving their objectives in the future.

While there is variability among land managers’ abilities to respond to fires, there is a consensus among managers that both preventative and post-fire management activities will be necessary to protect the land moving forward.

“I think over the next 20 to 40 years, most people will continue to adapt and find ways to deal,” Aslan said.“But I do think that once you start to get further out than that, it’s going to get harder and harder.”

Some of the Arizona hot spots that Aslan and her team identified as high risk in their modeling actually went up in flames after the models were produced, such as an area near Lake Roosevelt, roughly 11 miles north of Globe. In August of 2020, a lightning strike ignited a wildfire that burned almost 21,000 acres of Sonoran Desert grass and brush.

In recent years, the state of Arizona has experienced some of the largest fires in the state’s recorded history.

In fact, Arizona’s 2020 fire

season is considered one of the worst the state has ever seen with almost one million acres of federal, state and tribal lands burned.

Lata, who has worked as fire ecologist for almost 20 years, explained that we are seeing such extreme changes to the Sonoran Desert’s fire regime largely due to the spread of invasive grasses.

To make matters worse, climate change is exacerbating the spread of non-native grasses. Steadily increasing temperatures coupled with increasingly sporadic rainfall create the perfect storm in the desert where fine fuels and fires can thrive.

On April 5, the Pima County Board of Supervisors issued an update on their Invasive Species Management Process, stating that buffelgrass is a key threat in the Sonoran Desert.

“In addition to the ecological devastation that it poses, buffelgrass also has the potential to negatively impact the almost $I billion tourism industry in our region as well as public health and safety issues associated with increased fires,” the update

stated. “For this reason, Pima County’s Office of Emergency Management highlighted the threat posed by buffelgrass in the County’s multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan…

The current status of the buffelgrass problem in our region is largely unknown given the lack of data for some areas and because of the ever-changing extent of infestations in many areas.

However, it is likely that buffelgrass is now present in every section (640 acres) of land in Pima County below approximately 4,000 feet elevation.”

If the fire regime of the Sonoran Desert continues on its current trajectory, many of the desert’s endemic species, including the iconic saguaro cactus, will struggle to survive. This is because Sonoran Desert plants are generally not well adapted to fire disturbances. They evolved in an environment where fires were not common, so they do not have the defenses to survive high intensity fires. Invasive grasses, however, usually regenerate quickly after fire events.

Scientists and land managers generally agree that the fire disturbance cycle in the Sonoran Desert is out of whack, but there is a lack of consensus on how to address this problem moving forward. Moreover, there is a lack of knowledge on how changes to the fire regime are going impact our social and ecological systems over the next century.

“To say there’s a problem is putting it mildly,” Lata said. “Fires are spreading faster and bigger than they ever would have, and more frequently. Those grasses aren’t going back in the box, and we don’t know how to get rid of them.”

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Foothills News, April 28, 2021

Etherton shows off decades of photos in two new shows Margaret Regan

Special to Tucson Local Media

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or 33 years, art lovers have been climbing the daunting staircase up to Etherton Gallery, perched high on the second floor of downtown’s historic Oddfellow Hall.

It’s always been worth it.

Right now, for example, if you trek up the 27 steps, you’ll see not one but two stunning exhibitions of 20th century documentary photography.

“Danny Lyon: Thirty Photographs” is a tribute to the best photos of Lyon’s extraordary career. The other show, “For the Record: Documentary Photographs from the Etherton Gallery Archive,” shows off 85 blackand-white images shot by a throng of renowned photographers: Robert Frank, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Flor Garduño, and Garry Winogrand.

These two gems will be the last Etherton exhibitions in the handsome Sixth Ave. gallery, and the first exhibition in a new space. Proprietor Terry Etherton is ending his 33 years downtown and moving to a one-story building at 341 S. Convent St. in Barrio Viejo.

“The building was sold,” Etherton says of the current place. “It was time to move on. It’s a cool space. This is our 40th anniversary year. It’s a good time to make a move.”

Etherton opened his first gallery in a retail space on Sixth Street near Fourth Avenue; he stayed there for seven years before setting down roots in the Odd Fellows building.

“I was looking around over the years at other spaces,” he says, especially ones that could accommodate wheelchairs. The Convent space handily fits that bill with an accessible ramp; it

Courtesy Photo

courtesy photo

“Arnold Popkin,”1985, by Allen Dutton (1922-2017). ©2021 Allen A. Dutton, courtesy Etherton Gallery. also provides ample parking.

Etherton has never been able to show big sculptures in his current space—they’re too heavy to be hauled up the epic staircase—but he’ll be able to display 3D work with ease in the large patio out back of the Convent gallery.

First up in the garden gallery will be big granite and glass works by Otto Rigan.

Inside, “We’ll have a grand opening in the fall, with a big Joel-Peter Witkin show, just him,” Etherton says. Works by the renowned photographer, a gallery favorite, will likely take up much of the gallery’s 3,400 square feet.

Etherton is thrilled that the new space was specifically built for art: it held the massive art collection of the late Bill Small. A newspaperman who owned the Tucson Citizen and, briefly, the Arizona Daily Star, Small had a passion for contemporary

art; he became a patron to many Tucson artists, buying their works but insisting they never let on that he did.

“I knew Bill Small and I love that the legacy is being passed on,” Etherton says.

Small’s architect son William designed his father’s lair in 1987, creating soaring skylights and concrete floors that somehow fit right in with the neighborhood’s 19th-century Sonoran adobes. The space has had various tenants over the years, housing an art gallery and then an architectural practice.

The owners, siblings Don and Betsy Rollings, are the children of the late Kelly Rollings, once the king of barrio real estate. Kelly also ran an art gallery in the neighborhood and he and Etherton were friends.

“We got along,” he says, and Kelly’s kids invited him to consider the Convent space for his gallery.

”The Cotton Pickers, Ferguson Unit, Texas Department of Corrections, 1968 from Thirty Photographs, 1962-1980,” by Danny Lyon. ©Danny Lyon/Magnum Photo.

“They want me there,” Terry says with a smile.

“They’ve been great.”

The buyer of the Odd Fellows is the controversial developer Ross Rulney, who bought the Benedictine Monastery on Country Club and more recently acquired the Rincon Market building on Sixth St. He’s lined up Delta, a new restaurant created by the owners of The Parish eatery, to take over the first floor in the space occupied for 10 years

by Janos Wilder’s DOWNTOWN Kitchen + Cocktails.

It closed last fall but survives as a to-go business, operated at The Carriage House near Odd Fellows.

Etherton’s two current photo shows will be a bridge between the two galleries, wrapping up in the old place on May 22 and doing a soft opening in Barrio Viejo, by appointment only, on June 1.

Either way, the exhibitions are a must for photography fans.

In “For the Record,” you’ll see Bernice Abbott’s famous “Flatiron Building,” New York’s beloved triangular tower, caught by Abbott in 1938, when the Depression was beginning to wane. W. Eugene Smith, who lived for a short time in Tucson, is represented by a piece from his heartbreaking Minamata series. A chemical company dumped mercury into a waterway, poisoning the fish regularly eaten in a Japanese town; thousands were stricken by disease.

Smith documented the catastrophe. In a 1972, a mother gently holds her daughter, profoundly disabled by the disaster.

Graciela Iturbide’s 1979 “Mujer ángel” pictures an indigenous Mexican woman gazing down at the Sonoran Desert. Seen in hindsight in 2021, the angel seems to be awaiting the thousands of desperate migrants who would die in that desert in the years to come.

For the Record: Documentary Photographs from the Etherton Gallery Archive and

Danny Lyon: Thirty Photographs, 19621980 Etherton Gallery Through May 22 at current gallery, 135 S. Sixth Ave. Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday From June 1 and to early September at new gallery location, 341 S. Convent Ave. in Barrio Viejo. By appointment.

Free 624-7370; Ethertongallery. com Masks and social distancing required

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For Jim Nook, a resident at Splendido, an all-inclusive community in Oro Valley for those 55 and better, photography has been a lifelong passion. “Retirement gave me a bit more time to spend on it, and over the past year—during the quiet months of the pandemic—I had the opportunity to concentrate and refine my photography,” he says.

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Lifelong photography enthusiast Jim Nook captured this shot of taiko drummers who performed at Splendido as part of a celebration of Japanese culture. or improve them now. “Like many things, photography is constantly evolving,” he says.

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JJim is primarily interested in landscape photography. “I don’t have to go far: Splendido has plenty of opportunities for this right here,” he says.

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they would share the day’s photos on our in-house TV channel for all to see. It was a good example of the type of opportunities they offer here to expand our minds and share with others.”

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While Jim shares his photos, W he is less interested in showing them than he is in the art of photography. “I get a lot of enjoyment out of my own photos,” he says. “I don’t care so much about sharing them with the world. I just want to continue the journey to be a better photographer. That’s true for whatever one’s passion is. Creativity is something you continue to do your whole life.”

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Foothills News, April 28, 2021

Courtesy Photo

Beautiful downtown Bisbee sits amid the picturesque hills of southern Arizona.

Beat the pandemic blues with a day-trip to Bisbee Jamie Verwys

Special to Tucson Local Media

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he town of Bisbee was once one of the state’s most bustling mining towns. In fact, by the early 1900s Bisbee was the biggest city between St. Louis and San Francisco, boasting a population of 20,000 in its hilly homes.

Today, Bisbee remains an experience. With its collection of artists and characters, the town has become a sort of pilgrimage for Tucsonans who visit for its beloved events, cool weather and funky vibes.

For those seeking a little adventure in the form of historic bars, unexpected conversations and lots of antique shopping, it’s the

perfect place for a day trip or weekend away from the fast lane.

In the hub of the action is “Old Bisbee,” the stretch of businesses down and around Main Street that epitomize the town. It’s here that you’ll find the real treats of Bisbee, like the Bisbee Mining Museum. The museum is a Smithsonian affiliate and offers a small but mighty look at Bisbee’s long history of mining, the now famous Bisbee deportation and well-known figures during its Wild West days.

If you’re a history buff, the town also features a number of walking tours, or you can strap on a hardhat and travel down into the Queen Mine Tour.

There are a number of local shops where you can find

a one-of-a-kind gift. The Miners & Merchants Antique Center offers multiple floors of antiques to browse, while shops like Redbone Vintage sell a small selection of curated vintage clothes and colorful boots.

If cooking is your hobby, stop by Bisbee Olive Oil, where you can find (and sample) over 40 unique flavors of olive oil and balsamic vinegars.

The quirky town delivers on dining options as well, with a mix of casual eats and fancier fare.

The Bisbee Breakfast Club, just outside Old Bisbee, is a must try, becoming so legendary in these parts they opened locations throughout Tucson.

Café Roka consistently wins “Best of ” bragging

rights each year, although it is currently open for takeout only.

But if you want to eat like a local, the tiny but delicious Thuy’s Noodle Shop serves delicious Vietnamese food but now has limited seating, so take it to go.

Before you explore Bisbee’s nightlife, check out the Copper Queen Library, which is the state’s longest continuously-operated public library.

No trip to Bisbee is complete without a round of drinks in Brewery Gulch.

This pocket of entertainment in Old Bisbee is home to the majority of the drinking establishments in town.

The Old Bisbee Brewing Company has the most mass appeal and the best view of the action from their

patio. They brew a small selection of beers, ranging from a stout to an IPA. The most interesting of their brews is Salut, a light and flowery drink made with champagne yeast.

Across the gulch is local dive St. Elmo Bar. Home to the best jukebox in town and the loudest, rowdiest characters of Bisbee, they’re known to make a strong drink and an experience you won’t forget.

There is no shortage of lodging available in Bisbee, but if you come during Bisbee Pride or New Year’s Eve, reserve your rooms early.

The town fills up fast on holidays and events.

The Copper Queen Hotel is one of the most wellknown places in town and puts you in the heart of the

action. You might even see a ghost in this longstanding hotel. The Bisbee Grand Hotel, The Inn at Castle Rock and Hotel San Ramon are other good historical options.

You can even book a stay in the OK Street Jailhouse, which was built in 1904 as the local branch of the county jail and is now a comfy hotel.

Tombstone, the town too tough to die, and the vineyards of Elgin/Sonoita are just a short drive away if you need more fun in Cochise County.

The trip to Bisbee from Tucson is under two hours and you can get there via I-10 East and AZ-80 East.

Be sure to call ahead to businesses to learn about pandemic restrictions.

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Foothills News, April 28, 2021

Pandemic puts the squeeze on fashion industry, but local shops remain part of the fabric of the community Christina Duran Tucson Local Media

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ocal fashion boutiques and designers continue to face challenges due to the pandemic, but some have recently seen shoppers looking for new clothes alongside a push for more sustainability in the industry.

Last March, businesses—especially non-essential businesses like boutiques and thrift shops—were forced to close.

The pandemic had a rippling effect across the indus-

try as manufacturers also closed and barriers arose to traveling to places to find source materials and designs.

Not only small boutiques but large powerhouse brands and retailers suffered through the pandemic, with factories shutdowns and delays in merchandise.

Many filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, including retailers like J. Crew, Men’s Wearhouse and Lucky Brand.

However, small boutiques had an advantage with a strong local following

and the ability to quickly pivot or build on existing online presence.

For a year, Laura Tanzer Designs, a sustainable retailer and atelier, has remained open by appointment only.

Owner and designer Laura Tanzer had to furlough all four part-time workers, as she continues to feel uncomfortable putting her employees at risk. With appointments few and far between, she said she probably made about a sixth of her typical income over the past year.

Tanzer sources material from deadstock–leftover fabric from manufacturers.

With manufacturers closed, she was unable to get more deadstock; however, Tanzer already had a large stockpile of vintage materials and still plenty of inventory.

She received the first round of PPP, and applied for the second but has not heard back. Unlike other small businesses or restaurants, retailers did not receive as much government help through the Paycheck Protection Program or other government

loans, said Tanzer.

“I make a product that is extraordinary and beautiful and artistic, very creative, and this type of product wasn’t something that people wanted or needed during the pandemic because everybody was at home. People weren’t going out. People weren’t being seen,” said Tanzer. “It really was very close to devastating for me to be closed for this amount of time, especially since my business, prior to the pandemic, was ramping up and doing really, really, really

well and then it’s just like somebody pulled the curtain and closed everything.”

From March to May, Tanzer made masks from left over cotton, which sold faster than she could make them.

However she didn’t plan to make masks for the rest of her life, so she made a shift in her business model and a new website, called Learn Craft Sew, soft launched at the end of March. She will post online tutorials and offer workshops on sewing and pattern making in a two- to three-hour session.

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Laura Tanzer working on new shoe designs.

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or Tucson Thrift, a known vintage shop on Fourth Avenue, the ability to pivot was a little harder, but the shop took the opportunity to remodel and install a new POS system while closed.

Owner Arlene Leaf said they closed on March 18along with other nonessential retailers and had already purchased Halloween merchandise in January, not cancelling their orders and keeping their commitments.

Laura Tanzer Designs

With people not celebrating Halloween, as other years, they still have merchandise, but Leaf said the community comes by to support the shop. They reopened on Oct. 10, but she decided to close again after seeing the spike

around Thanksgiving before reopening again in February.

Leaf thanks the government programs that allowed her to continue to support her staff and remodelling efforts.

“Very fortunately I had savings, so I could keep the staff going while we worked out the other stuff but it was a little scary there at that time. But honestly, without the government we couldn’t have made it,” said Leaf. “It’s like I was just to zero in my account and the $10,000 showed up.”

Leaf said they also received an additional $42,000 in PPP and EIDL that allowed her to keep going.

Like Tucson Thrift, W Boutique had already purchased merchandise from manufacturers and designers for the spring and summer about six months prior, then the pandemic hit, said owner Sydney Duncan. The bou-

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tique kept their commitments and was given more time to pay to deal with the losses as people were no longer purchasing “going out” outfits at the same rate as before.

“We got kind of caught in the middle of our busy, busy season,” said Duncan. “We definitely had a lot of dressy things but we always have a really nice casual selection and that’s what was our strength.”

W Boutique, a 25-year Tucson retailer, had a wide selection of sweatsuits and elevated casualwear and currently have sold out their Kermit the Frog and Animal boyfriend tee and hoodie.

The pandemic had a rippling effect across the industry as manufacturers closed and traveling to source materials and designs stopped.

Star of India Fashions, the enterprise that owns the Fourth Avenue staple Creations Boutique, found itself

with more of their own Angie brand merchandise, as retailers cancelled big orders.

The national brand sold in Nordstrom and Dillards was now more available at the company’s own retailers across Arizona and in California.

“We were really lucky to be diversified into wholesale and retail that we have our own brand,” said Star of India Fashions general manager Olivia Verma Smith, daughter of original owners Avtar and Satya Verma.

Star of India, which sources their products from all around the world (with designers travelling from India to China), had to transfer their design process online, shopping for artwork over Zoom and with employees on the ground sending fabric material photographs through email.

See FASHION FORWARD, P12

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Continued from P11 “It’s been a lot of innovation in the design process and I think we might keep some of that because it’s very cost effective to not travel and if so, we’ll see If we keep some of those practices long term,” said Smith. “It’s been interesting to keep it going, but the fashion is new. It keeps on going, it’s just the inspiration comes from other places. It comes from online. It doesn’t come from physical things.”

As vaccinations roll out, the shops have seen more business. Tanzer said for the month of April, she had more appointments and looked forward to participating in the Tucson Museum of Art’s Spring Artisan Market on April 16-18.

The market, which will also be open on April 23-25,

showcases local arts and craft and this year implemented social distancing and mask wearing to keep participants safe.

“We’re starting to see people sort of coming out a little bit, especially because a lot of people vaccinated and a lot of people are halfway vaccinated, and then other people are going to get their vaccination.” Tanzer said. ”All of those factors are playing into a little bit more comfort, whereas before, you know, we were all very on edge.”

T

ucson Thrift offers an array of vintage wear that could not be really tailored to the elevated casual wear and sweatsuit fashion that became popular throughout the pandemic, but Leaf had seen not only people coming out more, but

appreciating the value of vintage clothing.

“There’s a shift, whereas the people are really appreciating the vintage clothing and looking forward to wearing it,” said Leaf. “They finally woke up to what fast fashion is. It doesn’t have the character, love, whatever in the creation that the oldest things had and they really are enjoying that. I think that’s a big shift.”

While the fashion industry had been trending towards a more sustainable future, Tanzer said the pace was slow and the pandemic accelerated the change.

“I think you’ll find in most industries, the pandemic has accelerated things that were sort of trending that might have been positive things but people are stuck in old behaviors,” said Tanzer.“So I’m hoping that the pandemic will continue to accelerate these huge changes in the fashion industry and we will not see overproduction and overconsumption going forward.”

Tanzer often thinks about how to reconcile her role as a retailer while advocating for sustainability.

“I’m an artist and as an artist, I’m not going to stop creating, but what I can do is use found materials, which is what I do with vintage and the deadstock. Those are found materials that otherwise would have gone to landfills or incinerators,” said Tanzer. “We were not going to stop creating, but we’re going to find other ways to be of value. So yes, so having a retail shop in the general sense is contrary to being sustainable.

If that shop carries non sustainable products. If that shop is only there to sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, regardless of whatever, and I don’t do any of those things. My shop is just an extension of my creativity, of my personality.”

Foothills News, April 28, 2021

Independent bottling company showcases Whiskey Del Bac in 2021 release Austin Counts Tucson Local Media

A

n East Coast boutique bottling company focused on releasing unique American whiskeys produced by independent distillers has chosen three single malt spirits from Tucson’s Whiskey Del Bac to be a part of the company’s offerings this spring.

Staying true to the 200-year-old Scottish bottling tradition, Lost Lantern searches the country for one-of-a-kind regional whiskeys to bottle and distribute through certain retailers and their online shop, LostLanternWhiskey.com.

Co-founders Nora Ganley-Roper and whiskey journalist Adam Polonski said they added the Old Pueblo whiskey distiller due to their unique process of using mesquite smoke in production of their spirits.

“When I worked for Whiskey Advocate, I got to know Whiskey Del Bac through covering a lot of American whiskeys that were starting to rise up. I thought this [Whiskey Del Bac] was one of the most interesting whiskeys I’ve encountered because it was doing something totally new,” Polonski said. “Whereas a lot of craft distilleries were doing things like making bourbon in places bourbon has never been made, they [Whiskey Del Bac] were making whiskey with smokey mesquite, which has never been done anywhere.”

Polonski said he and Ganley-Roper visit every facility they work with to get a “sense of place” and a better understanding of the distillers’ dedication to their craft. While in

Tucson, the duo tasted more than 15 different whiskeys, aged in small 15 gallon casks, before choosing the top three to be added to their five-bottle spring line up (New York Distilling Company and Balcones Distilling from Waco, Texas are also featured in this seasonal offering).

“This is a unique opportunity to present a comparison of the casks coming out of Whiskey Del Bac,” Ganley-Roper said. “We think you can learn a lot about a distillery by trying several single barrels side-by-side.”

When Lost Lantern chooses a whiskey to bottle, the spirit is transferred from the barrel it was aged in to a stainless steel cask so the whiskey will not continue to mature.

What Lost Lantern customers get is the exact whiskey varieties Polonski and Ganley-Roper tasted when they visited the distillery in 2019. Each of the three offerings is limited to 66 bottles of very rare whiskey that can’t be reproduced due to the reactions that take place inside the wooden cask while maturing.

“We knew we wanted to choose a few selections from Whiskey Del Bac because their cask format is smaller in size and we wanted to make sure there would be enough bottles to go around with the cask,” Ganley-Roper said. “We realized we had a pretty cool opportunity with selecting three different casks, in that we could specifically speak to the different aspects of Whiskey Del Bac.” Each of the three single whiskey casks from the distiller was made with 100% malted barley, with 60% of the barley smoked with mesquite wood, and they have different flavor characteristics.

All three of Lost Lantern’s offerings from Whiskey Del Bac are unique and differ from one another. Single Cask #5 is 129.2 proof and features a very savory and smokey flavor with herbal notes that balance the spirit. Single Cask #6 (130.6 proof) has more fruity notes with a slightly spicy but rich smokey flavor Whiskey Del Bac is known for. Single Cask #7 (122.2 proof) is a departure from the previous two whiskeys due to its bold oak flavor that incorporates spicy and herbal notes.

Single Cask #5 and Single Cask #6 both were aged in a second-fill American oak cask for 18 to 22 months and Single Cask #7 was aged in a new oak cask for only a year before being bottled, according to Stephen Paul, president of the board of directors for Hamilton Distillers, the makers of Whiskey Del Bac. “Whiskey #7 is darker in color because it’s new oak and has a bigger, bolder taste compared to the other two,” Paul said. “It’s more different than the other two, than the other two are different from each other.”

Ganley-Roper said they view Single Cask #7 as an entry for Bourbon and rye drinkers to enjoy what Whiskey Del Bac produces.

“It has more of those oak tones, caramel and spice that Bourbon and rye drinkers find in the whiskeys they love,” Ganley-Roper said. “It’s super fun to taste these next to each other, but it also allows people who like different styles of single malt to find something that speaks to them within the Whiskey Del Bac portfolio.”

For more information or to purchase a bottle (or all five of this season’s offerings), check out lostlanternwhiskey.com.

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Catholic ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON CATHOLIC CHURCH

8650 North Shannon Rd, Tucson 85742 (520) 297-7357 church@seastucson.org † www.seastucson.org Office Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8am-12:30pm & 1:15pm-4:30pm Closed Saturday & Sunday Due to Covid-19, the Parish Office will be closing to the public for walk-ins until further notice. Please email or call and we will assist you.

Daily Mass - online & in person Monday - Friday: 8:15am

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Weekend Masses

Friday: 5pm Saturday: 5pm Sunday: 7am, 9am, 11pm, 1pm (Spanish), 5pm

Communion Distribution Sunday 8-8:30am & 12pm-12:30pm Monday-Friday: 9:15am - 9:45am

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School Daily in-person instruction Pre-K – 8th Grade www.school.seastucson.org † (520) 797 - SEAS

Lutheran RESURRECTION LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER

11575 N. 1st Ave. Oro Valley, AZ 85737 (520) 575-9901 Welcome to Resurrection Lutheran!

Come join us every Sunday for worship!

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These Vietnamese sandwiches are so good, you may become Banhdicted

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VISTA DE LA MONTAÑA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

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t’s been described as a banh mi boom when an information technology executive partnered with a real estate professional last fall to respond to a paucity of local purveyors of Vietnam’s street food staple.

But without previous restaurant experience, what could they offer to patrons who would bring certain expectations for authenticity to their door? Could it be generations of wisdom from the Southeast Asia communities where their respective families have deep roots?

Yeah, that’ll do it.

Kim Nguyen, whose family hails from Vietnam, and Don Vongtheung, who came to the United States from Thailand, are both first-generation Asian Americans.

Their passion for the banh mi sandwich was reignited when they hammered out a deal on a new restaurant called Banhdicted.

“Kim was living in San Diego around that time, and whenever she’d come to Tucson for a visit, I’d ask her to bring me 10 banh mi sandwiches from A Chau, one of our favorite Vietnamese restaurants,” said Vongtheung, co-owner of Banhdicted, 1980 W. Orange Grove Road. “There aren’t many good banh mi shops here and that started the idea for our new restaurant.”

Vongtheung and Nguyen opened quietly last October but it didn’t take long for lines to start forming at the counter. Vongtheung attributes the strong response to their nod to tradition, their multiple variations on the banh mi theme, and their overall business philosophy.

“The banh mi experience

Courtesy Photo

“Keep it simple, keep it easy, and focus on what you do best. Our specialty is banh mi, so we’ve decided not to expand our menu beyond these six to 10 sandwiches,” said Banhdicted co-owner Don Vongtheung. is all about the bread, and we wanted ours to be the best,” he said. After sampling breads at seven local bakeries, they gave their business exclusively to La Baguette Bakery, which they claim is “distinct from the rest of the herd.”

“These baguettes, made by an amazing local family, are lighter and softer than standard banh mi breads,” he said. “Typical banh mis can be a little hard and crumbly, but ours maintain an interior softness even after they’re toasted.”

Banhdicted features six versions of banh mi on its menu, each with the classic line-up of pickled carrots and daikon radishes, liver pate spread, cucumber, jalapenos, and cilantro. The protein is the pivotal element, with the AZ Special with Vietnamese ham and pork belly holding the bestseller position.

“This one is the staple

banh mi, and if you’ve never had a banh mi, this is the goto,” he said.

Vongtheung starts the process by brining pork belly for 24-48 hours in a secret sauce, steaming it for four hours, and chilling it for six hours. It’s then sliced before it lands on the baguette and goes into the oven.

Other versions include lemongrass beef, barbecue pork, chicken, and tofu, as well as a breakfast banh mi with eggs and pork belly. Two new versions, with spicy Laotion sausage and Vietnamese meatballs, are expected to hit the menu in the next few weeks.

The couple’s business philosophy is straightforward.

“Keep it simple, keep it easy, and focus on what you do best,” he said. “Our specialty is banh mi, so we’ve decided not to expand our menu beyond these six to 10

sandwiches.”

When they first opened the restaurant, Vongtheung and Nguyen were kicking out 10 pounds of pickled vegetables each week. Now they’re up to 100 pounds every few days. That’s quite a spike over a six-month period of time, which suggests that their business model is working.

“If you love what you do, believe in what you do, and listen to your customers, the money will come,” said Vongtheung. And come it has, as the number of Tucson’s certifiably Banhdicted continues to grow.

Contact Matt Russell, whose day job is CEO of Russell Public Communications, at mrussell@russellpublic. com. Russell is also the publisher of OnTheMenuLive. com as well as the host of the Friday Weekend Watch segment on the “Buckmaster Show” on KVOI 1030 AM.

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HOROSCOPE By Holiday Mathis

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1 Catch 4 Onetime Volvo competitors 9 Title character of a John

Irving novel 13 “Is that ___?”

14 Alternatives to windows?

16 Diva’s delivery 17 … Donald Duck or Popeye?

19 One of Jacob’s 12 sons 20 Writing sister of Charlotte and Emily 21 What doesn’t go a long. way?

22 Ready to roll 24 … Minions or Mario?

27 Hand down 29 “Goodness gracious!”

30 Danger for Indiana Jones 31 Pick up 34 Locale of the annual Nobel Peace Prize ceremony

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38 Question asked regarding

two red-carpet photos of those named in the italicized clues?

42 First name among late-night TV hosts 43 “Boo-hoo” 44 Wrestler Flair 45 Should that be the case 48 San Diego suburb 50 … Michael Darling or Baby Smurf?

55 “It’s almost my turn!”

56 Judo ranking 57 ___ card, part of a wedding invitation 60 On a magnet they’re called poles 61 … Inspector Gadget or McGruff the Crime Dog? 64 Happening now 65 More slick 66 Big ___ (praise, slangily) 67 Duchamp’s art movement 68 Monopoly stack

Know Us, Know Your Community

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). People who’ve known each other a long time build a history, the value of which is made more apparent in a contrasting situation. You’ll be the foreigner this week. As a newcomer without a track record, if you make a mistake, then there is no history to acquit you. You’ll do fine and, bonus, better appreciate familiar ties at home.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). There are heavy loads that build your muscles and heavy loads that injure them. Getting the right load depends on a few factors -- knowing yourself and knowing who and what you’re dealing with. Research and trust are key here and will be main contributors to how the week plays out.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). The unique opportunities will be wrapped inside of the very thing you’ve labeled a flaw, fault or inadequacy. If you have to work harder to get something right, then other people are likely in the same boat. This is where the gold is. First, you’ll help yourself, and then you’ll help others.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You’ll be giving attention to different endeavors all week, many of which pay you back immediately.

Payoffs include attention, affection, money, satisfaction and more. When your focus has no obvious payoff, that’s when things get interesting. Those interactions define you in some deep and meaningful way.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). There’s an aspect of your life you can look at right now and honestly say, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”When you marvel at the circumstances that had to come together to create this heavenly condition, the gratitude that pours from you has the elevating magic to lift your heart and heal other parts of you, too.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Those details at the end -- layers of polish that make your work really shine -- are worth getting right, and you shouldn’t feel silly for obsessing over them. Definitely, there’s a slew of unworthy details you can and should skip, as they’ll bog you down and wear you out. Success is in recognizing the difference.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The past theme was

Crossword Puzzle Answers

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AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You’ll try things to see what fits. This takes courage. Just remember that when it doesn’t fit, that is often no one’s fault. Furthermore, to personalize matters of fit is as silly and absurd as implying a status among puzzle pieces. There is no superior piece, only the right one for a particular part of the puzzle.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Though those around you are not always as accommodating as you’d like them to be, you stop short of expecting that anyone should behave differently on your behalf. Instead, you learn out how it’s usually done and work within that system to nudge things in the direction that helps you and others like you.

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SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Your purpose, if it’s a worthy one, will bring you nothing but problems. Good. There’s no story without a problem -- no ah-ha moment, no sweet relief.

This week offers endless resources. Good problems will narrow your focus and show you what’s important so you can go on to help, bond with and elevate all.

O R C A

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TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Even though you’re not as busy as you’ve been in other times, in some ways, life’s flow is quite demanding. It asks you to deliver what you’ve little experience with. The challenge is an opportunity to become stronger and better, even though, as you’re going through it, you often feel ill-equipped. You’re enough!

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Org. with Perseverance ___ Kim, 7-year-old star of the Golden Globe-winning “Minari” 3 Driver’s danger 4 ___ Paulo 5 Runway model?

6 Silk center of India 7 Comic strip antagonist with massive arms 8 Tre x due 9 Wonder-ful actress?

10 Spinning 11 Compete with 12 Figure skating category 15 Writer Larsson 18 Wine dregs 23 Grp. opposed by March for Our Lives 25 Certain court plea, in brief 26 They can blow a lot of hot air 27 Hound’s “hands” 28 Tennis great posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom 32 Classic name in children’s literature 33 Home to the Christ the Redeemer statue, in brief 35 Worry to exhaustion 36 Luau loops 37 Subject of the 2013 documentary “Blackfish” 39 Body of water in northern Russia 40 Like tightrope walkers and household budgets, ideally 41 Semihard Dutch cheese 46 Manipulate the outcome of 47 Scrap 49 Podcaster Maron 50 Sphere 51 “Labor ___ vincit” (Oklahoma’s state motto) 52 Available for home viewing, in a way 53 “Rolling in the Deep” hitmaker 54 Title girl with a gun in an Aerosmith hit 58 Use a Juul, say 59 Affliction for many a vet 62 Cleansed (of) 63 They’re made of mins.

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figuring out what to improve upon and what to accept as “good enough.”The new theme is about the “good enough” part. Labeling anything as such would deprive you of raising the endeavor to the level of art. Everything you decide to accept is worth highlighting, celebrating and doubling down on.

F I E L D

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ARIES (March 21-April 19). Your talent of the week is time management -- specifically, a realistic view of what you can accomplish within a time limit. Of course, quality and quantity are dependent on the hours allotted. For now, just say “yes” and do your best. Later, you can work out details that couldn’t be resolved in this run.

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uring a recent online music festival hosted by local artist Steve Roach, listeners agreed Tucson likely has more ambient musicians per capita than any other city—something about the enchantment of the desert and its resulting states of consciousness. But even if the per capita claim isn’t quite true, Roach’s prolific musical output makes up for everyone else.

April 2 saw two album releases from Roach: “As It Is” and “Temple of the Melting Dawn” (a collaboration with Serena Gabriel). These follow another album released in January and multiple last year. Although Roach’s music is often introspective, his ambient style also manages

to foster a community— both those who tuned into his SoundQuest online music festival, and the multiple local artists with whom he collaborates.

“From the years of feedback from my audience, it’s clear they immerse themselves in this psychological spiritual state within my music. A feeling supports one into deeper places within,” Roach said in a press release for “As It Is”, recorded over the last year.

“As It Is” departs from his recent output of more energetic albums, replacing the arpeggiated synthesizer notes on last year’s Tomorrow with darker, soothing tones. And while his more melody-driven output served as an uplifting escape from 2020, “As It Is” also provides relief from global woes, but rather than rising above them, it dips beneath.

courtesy photo

“As It Is”

by Steve Roach

“Temple of the Melting Dawn”

by Serena Gabriel and Steve Roach www.steveroach.com

Over the course of six massive tracks (all of which run longer than 10 minutes) Roach traces a kind of mental meditation journey, beginning with “What Falls Away,” and passing through a “Threshold Meditation,” before ultimately “Emerging.”

“It’s a daily meditation at that threshold, asking ‘How is today unique? What is unique in this moment?

How can I respond to this?

What is the thing that’s going to make today unique and empowered through this language of sound and music?’” Roach says.

The album opener is a series of smooth drones moving at a glacier’s pace that essentially works to get the listener into a proper headspace. It’s only until a few minutes into the second track (about 15 minutes into the album) that any form of percussion appears, but even this is mostly submerged behind the layers of mysterious electronics.

“Unreachable” includes some rare acoustic instrumentation on the album, See JUMP, P19

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Oro Valley Optimist Club hosting ‘Scramble for Youth’ golf fundraiser at Dove Mountain M B

Special to Tucson Local Media

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fter a year without fundraising events, the Oro Valley Optimist Club plans to bring back their “Scramble for Youth” golf fundraiser at Marana’s Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain’s Golf Club on Saturday, May 1. Through the event, the OVOC hopes to raise money for the youth services they offer to kids from the communities of northwest Tucson.

The “Scramble for Youth” is the OVOC’s primary fundraising event.

Players of any age can participate in the 18-hole golf scramble as a part of a team of four. In addition to the scramble, players will compete in a “longest

drive” and a “closest to the pin” competition. The contests will talk place on the same course used for the PGA’s World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play tournament.

“It’s amazingly fun,” said Kara Riley, the president of the OVOC and the chief of the Oro Valley Police Department. “It’s a beautiful course, and it’s really nice to be able to have that opportunity to be with people

who have that like goal of wanting to raise money for our children.”

The OVOC, a local nonprofit organization, has been working to promote health and positive citizenship in the youth of northwest Pima County since 2002. They facilitate 12 youth groups and a variety of community service projects in collaboration with the Amphitheater Unified School District, the Oro Valley Police Department and other community partners.

The group created the “Scramble for Youth” back in 2002 to come up with the funds to support their programs. Some of the programs they offer include Project Graduation, the Police Explorers, Camp Fury, Dispose-A-Med and a drug awareness day for

Steve Roach: Ambient music Continued from P18 synthesizers.

“Equanimity” references Roach’s more spacey ambient, with futuristic drums and a particularly affecting central melody.

The album’s theme is hidden in the cover art and connected images—shots of exposed minerals gleaming like the rainbows in oil slicks, hinting at how even when all else is stripped away, there is a vibrancy in the bedrock.

Roach describes this theme as a “deep engagement ex-

ploring the psychology of sound: expanded consciousness creating meaning out of sonic abstraction.”

While much of Roach’s decades-long catalog works as a soundscape for meditation and relaxation, “As It Is” works as an example of the ambient pioneer somewhat mapping the mental journey—not just opening those internal caverns, but shining a light.

“That unreachable place is something you hear within my music,” Roach says. “I’m reaching towards

something I’m never fully grasping, and in that state of not-fully-grasping-it there’s a recognition of knowing it as it is. Perhaps it doesn’t need to be grasped, it can be unreachable, it can remain suspended.”

As with multiple of his projects, Roach can’t help concluding with a bright ascension, the natural emergence from the deep, thoughtful state “As It Is” places the listener in.

“These soundworlds offer nourishment and renewal along with a greater, more

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all of the 5th graders in AUSD. The OVOC also provides in-need students with college scholarship opportunities.

“We weren’t able to do any fundraising last year because of COVID,” Riley said. “So we’re certainly hoping that we have more success this year to be able to give back even more to our community and the northwest side of Pima County.”

Not only was the OVOC not able to raise any money last year, they also couldn’t host any of their usual events for kids in the community. This year, the OVOC has committed to hosting Project Graduation, a drug-free, alcohol-free event for seniors from Amphitheater, Ironwood Ridge and Canyon del Oro high schools.

During the event, graduating seniors get to celebrate with their classmates on campus during an overnight party.

The 2021 “Scramble for Youth” will look a bit different this year due to COVID. Typically, the scramble includes a dinner and an award ceremony that takes places after the event. This year, winners will be announced virtually, and their trophies will be shipped to them in the mail. Additionally, event organizers are encouraging participants to register for the event online in order to promote social distancing.

For those who do not register online, in-person registration for the event will begin at 10 a.m. on May 1. The scramble itself will have a “shotgun” start at noon.

“The event is really important because we are able to raise these extra funds for our kids,” Riley said. “We have children in our community who are so much in need. And certainly, during these times with COVID, there’s even more need.”

The event costs $135 per person to register. The registration fee includes the green fee, the on-course contests and a boxed lunch. Participants can also purchase raffle tickets to win “premium baskets” valued at $150 to $300. All of the funds raised at the event will go directly to the OVOC’s youth and community service programs.

expansive state; at the same time I continue to discover a deeply cultivated connection to a core awareness of the self,” Roach said. “Over time, the music helps to build energy and relationship through the self.”

“Temple of the Melting Dawn” is the third fulllength collaboration with Tucson musician Serena Gabriel, whose acoustic instrumentation and occasional singing add a grounding to Roach’s swirling electronics.

Gabriel describes the album, which has a decidedly new age focus, as “perfect for creating sacred space.”

Unlike their 2020 collaborations, “Temple of the

Melting Dawn” features less of Gabriel’s spiritual singing, instead opting for echoing strings and atmosphere. The real draw is its blend of ancient and modern aesthetics, hinted at with track titles like “Visions of Delphi” and Gabriel’s pensive performances on the lyre, kalimba and flute.

The album focuses on divination, described in the liner notes as “the practice of seeking knowledge of the unknown by various natural, psychological and other techniques.” Again, similar to the meditative focus of “As It Is”, but with a potentially more metaphysical bent.

This goal is also exemplified in the album’s artwork, a desert landscape beneath a powerful sun, warping with a psychedelic overlay.

This shows strongest in the track “In Another Time,” which runs for a measly 12 minutes as far Roach’s music is concerned. The vastness is necessary for the goal of the music, and that expanse is filled with hushed affirmations and dark ambience.

Of course, describing ambient music only goes so far, even if it is conceptual.

Luckily, Roach and Gabriel’s music often speaks for itself, whether it’s quietly accompanying your thoughts or filling the room.

For more information and to register visit orovalleyoptimist.com/scramblefor-youth

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